It is little wonder...

Based on the recently released results of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's Civic Literacy Report, it is little wonder that the American sheeple silently stand by as the Bush administration, aided and abetted by Congress, lead our nation at breakneck speed down the road to socialism. A sample of the results include the following:

• "Seventy-one percent of Americans fail the test, with an overall average score of 49%."
  
• "Fewer than half of all Americans can name all three branches of government, a minimal requirement for understanding America’s constitutional system."
  
• "Officeholders typically have less civic knowledge than the general public. On average, they score 44%, five percentage points lower than non-officeholders."
  
• "The average score on the American civic literacy exam for those who ended their formal education with a bachelor’s degree is 57%, or an “F.” That is only 13 percentage points higher than the average score earned by those who hold high school, but not college, diplomas."
  
• College graduates in all age brackets—except Baby Boomers (ages 45 to 64)—typically earn an “F” on the exam."
  
• "Thirty-two percent of college graduates falsely believe the president has the power to declare war."

The majority of Americans have no understanding of the foundation upon which our nation is built. The masses are content as long as they have their bread and circuses. This is just another reason to homeschool your kids. See the report here. Take the test yourself here. If you don't score higher than 70%, then do yourself a favor - turn off the idiot box and read a book.

Police prepare for rioting hockey/soccer moms

Considering how rampant political correctness is these days, especially in Washington D.C., I was surprised to read this article in The Hill last week. Although publishing the article itself was not too PC, these first two examples of quotes in the column are the epitome of political correctness.

" “I think it is a big deal — you got an African-American running and [a] woman running,” he (ed. note: Jeff Thomason, spokesman for the Oakland Police Department) added, in reference to Obama and GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. “Whoever wins it, it will be a national event. We will have more officers on the street in anticipation that things may go south.” "

"James Tate, second deputy chief of Detroit’s police department, said extra manpower would be assigned to duty on Election Night. He said problems could flare whichever candidate wins.“Either party will make history and we want to prepare for celebrations that will be on a larger scale than for our sports teams,” Tate said."

Translation: The blacks are going to riot no matter who wins the election. Note that both speakers mention that there is a woman on the ticket. As if there is the remote possibility that the suburbs will erupt in flames, and hockey/soccer moms will be breaking storefront windows and looting if McCain/Palin lose on November 4. The next person quoted is more straightforward.

“If [Obama] is elected, like with sports championships, people may go out and riot,” said Bob Parks, an online columnist and black Republican candidate for state representative in Massachusetts. “If Barack Obama loses there will be another large group of people who will assume the election was stolen from him….. This will be an opportunity for people who want to commit mischief.”

Translation: The blacks are going to riot no matter who wins the election. The point of the story is this; regardless of who wins the election, stay out of the city on Tuesday night.

Update: I'm happy to write that there were no reports of rioting after the election, except by a few gays in California who were upset that the voters rejected homogamy.

Socialism or Fascism - It's Not Much of a Choice

Everyone knows that Barack Obama, like most Democrat politicians, is a socialist. Unfortunately, most of the American sheeple have turned a blind eye to the fact that the GOP (especially the party's standard bearer, John McCain) are, by definition, fascists. My copy of Webster's defines fascism as, "A philosophy of governmental system marked by stringent socioeconomic control, a strong central government usu. headed by a dictator, and often a belligerently nationalistic policy." This definition includes the four fascist characteristics in the Republican party that stand out today: corporatism, nationalism, totalitarianism and militarism.

• Corporatism - John T. Flynn, in his 1944 book As We Go Marching, said about fascism, "Thus we may now say that fascism is a system of social organization that recognizes and proposes to protect the capitalist system and uses the device of public spending and debt as a means of creating national income..." As we have recently witnessed, state intervention in the economy, when it is in the interest of the state and the wealthy elites who support the political machine, is wholly supported by the Republican party (with a few exceptions - thank you Ted Poe). According to Roderick T. Long, "Fascism seeks to incorporate... private ownership into the state apparatus through public-private partnership." The result is an economic system that is somewhere between capitalism and socialism. The camels nose was already under the tent; now the camel (thanks to the Bush administration, aided and abetted by McCain and the Republican Congress) is not only in the tent, but is in your bed snuggling with your wife.

• Nationalism - Whereas communism stresses class struggle, fascism emphasizes the struggle of the nation. The nation is the unifying force of the people. The nation is depicted as facing some never ending crisis (e.g., "The War on Terror") and must rally against the common enemy (e.g., Islamofascists, Ahmadinejad, bogeyman, etc.).

Dissent is grounds to question a person's patriotism. A perfect example is Minnesota Republican Congresswoman Bachmann asking about her political opponents, "Are they pro-America or anti-America?" The incessant flag waving, chants of "USA" and "Country First" banners at the Republican convention are indicative of a brand of nationalism that, as a Christian, I believe to be idolatry (and according to Rep. Bachmann, my opinion, of course, is indicative that I am anti-American ).

• Collectivism - Republican conservatism was traditionally associated with rugged individualism, so McCain's slogan "Serving a cause greater than self-interest" does not pass the smell test for me. I'm not for Ayn Rand-style selfishness, but if the state is the cause that McCain refers to, then "no thanks." McCain's belief in the state over the individual (my interpretation) is common to both fascism and socialism/communism.

• Totalitarianism - According to the definition, fascism has a strong central government usually head by dictator. The United States is not ruled by a dictator as commonly perceived (i.e. one man), rather we have a single party government (with Republican and Democrat factions) and a newly installed economic dictator. The government does not serve the people, but vice versa. This is not what the Founders envisioned.

• Militarism - Militarism is common to all fascist states. The worship of all things military is prevalent in the Republican party. Even while our country wages an unjust, unprovoked war against a country that posed no threat to us; a war that has resulted in the deaths of scores of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians and 4,000+ dead American soldiers and marines - the overwhelming majority of otherwise decent, God-fearing people that I worship with every Sunday morning still support the President and his abhorrent policies because we must "support the troops". McCain has surrounded himself with neocon advisors so one can only expect the everlasting war to continue, with potential new fronts in Iran and the former Soviet republics.

Because the lesser of two evils is still evil (and it is difficult to determine in this election which is the lesser evil), I have followed the advice of John Quincy Adams and voted for Chuck Baldwin, Constitution Party candidate for President.

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." John Quincy Adams

Quote of the Day

"One benefit of this bailout is that it has ended "the lesser evil" argument once and for all."

Vox Day

Unfortunately, even though there is little demonstrable difference between the two factions of the government party, the American sheeple will continue to support either the GOP or Dems - not even considering that there are other options available.

Poor Aggies

From a Longhorn's perspective, Mike Sherman was a great hire for the Aggies. Being a 25 point underdog to Oklahoma State is embarrassing. Not covering the spread is...well, my thesaurus did not have an adequate word.

OSU 56, A&M 28. Poor Aggies.

Update: KSU 44, A&M 30

Update 2: Baylor 41, A&M 21 ("I don't care who you are, that's funny right there!")

Quote of the Week

Describing the Wall Street bailout that both of my Texas Senators voted in favor of tonight:

"This is a huge cow patty with a piece of marshmallow stuck in the middle," Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., said of the package. "I'm not going to eat that cow patty."

Some Republicans (and Democrats) Will Still Stand for Principle

I was encouraged today to see that some Republicans (and Democrats) will still stand up and vote on principle. Or more likely they were afraid of facing the wrath of their constituents come November. Democrats voted 140-95 in favor of the bailout bill (HR3997), and Republicans opposed the measure 133-65. See how your representative voted here. It's too bad those same Republicans won't stand for a non-interventionist foreign policy as well.

The wanker Hugh Hewitt actually blamed the failed bill on Nancy Pelosi. Apparently he is unable to comprehend the numbers cited above. Either that, or Hewitt is right and the Republicans are so small and petty that they voted no just to spite Pelosi in response to her partisan speech before the vote. If Pelosi is actually responsible, then thank you Ms. Pelosi.

Regarding standing on principle, Daniel Larson of the American Conservative blog Eunomia says it best, "It is easy to talk about principle when there is no crisis happening and no risk attached to standing on principle. The real test comes when holding fast may actually cost something. Holding to a principle, if it means anything, means that you value it more than mere self-interest, satisfaction or comfort. A lot of Americans want to have it all–the pretense that they are free, with none of the responsibilities or dangers that go with it. In reality, you can either have the latter and remain free, or you can cease being free and then be kept free (temporarily) from responsibility and danger."

The political label 'Conservative' no longer has any mean since so many so-called "conservatives" (e.g., Hewitt, Kristol, editorial staff at National Review, etc.) are willing to embrace socialism and abandon the free market system as long as their 401K does not take a hit.

McCain and the Surge Myth

John McCain has made his support for the "surge" in Iraq one of the central issues of his campaign for President. McCain touts his early support for the surge to highlight his foreign policy experience and judgment. In reality, the surge is not the primary, or even secondary, reason for the decline in violence in Iraq.

First and foremost, the U.S placed the Sunni insurgents on the Pentagon payroll, paying them to stop killing our troops and Iraqi civilians. These former insurgents are known as the Sunni Awakening, or the "Sons of Iraq". The Sons of Iraq form an 80,000-100,000 man militia and the Pentagon (i.e., you and me) pays each militia member $300 a month. Based on 80,000 men; that is $24 million a month, or $288 million per year. That is only a fraction of the wars trillion dollar cost; but what happens when we stop paying (bribing) these former thugs and killers? My guess is that they revert to being thugs and killers.

Five years after Bush declared "mission accomplished", the U.S. still has no understanding of sectarian tension in the country. Iraq's Shiite-dominated government have strong reservations about an 80,000 strong Sunni militia, and believe the militia is a threat to lasting peace. Many of the movement's leaders leaders have been arrested and the government will not honor U.S pledges to employ the militia members, potentially leading to renewed sectarian violence (and ending the success of the surge).
(Sources: McClatchy and LA Times)

Second, is the fact that the ethnic cleansing in Baghdad is complete. Sectarian violence has declined because the Shiites have successfully cleansed Baghdad of a large portion of it's Sunni population. There are no longer mixed Shiite/Sunni neighborhoods in Bagdhad, so there is no longer sectarian violence. The mainstream media seldom mention that Iraq has 2 million refugees residing mostly in Jordan and Syria and another 2 million internally displaced persons.
(Sources: CS Monitor, Reuters, UCLA Study and Informed Comment)

McCain does not want to be held accountable for his support of the initial unjust and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis, millions of Iraqi refugees, and 4000 dead Americans (and counting). Yet he is happy to use his support of the poorly understood surge to his political benefit.

According to McCain's logic, if you shoot yourself in the foot; seeking immediate medical attention afterward is the lesson learned. Whereas, to a sane man, the lesson learned is not to play with loaded guns.

Democrats are not the anti-war option

For those who think that the Democrats are the anti-war option, please refer to page 33 of the Democrat Party platform.

"We believe we must also be willing to consider using military force in circumstances beyond self-defense in order to provide for the common security that underpins global stability–to support friends, participate in stability and reconstruction operations, or confront mass atrocities."

When it comes to war and peace, the Republicans and Democrats are two sides of the same coin.

She'd make a great VP, but...

McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate will certainly make the presidential race more interesting. From what I have heard and read about her she sounds like an actual conservative (as opposed to McCain). She is for drilling in ANWR (as opposed to McCain). And she is definitely not a Beltway insider or an elitist (as opposed to McCain). And she is pretty (as opposed to McCain). All of these are good things. Although, I would like to know more about where she stands on certain issues such as immigration and the Iraq War (since McCain is abysmal on both). But if she were running for Governor of Texas, she would likely have my vote.

Considering that the traditional role of the Vice President is largely symbolic, Palin would probably make a great VP. The only problem is that sometimes the Vice President becomes the President. Based on history, there is a 20% chance that she will become President prior to the 2012 election. Nine VPs have assumed the office of President; four as the result of natural death of the President, four by assassination, and one by resignation.

Three years removed from being the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska (pop. 6,715); there is no way that Palin is prepared to be one breath away from being the leader of free world. According to McCain, "we live in a very dangerous world." He says, "And there are situations which can arise which are not readily foreseen, ...that in my view require experience, knowledge, and judgment." Palin is definitely lacking in experience and her knowledge and judgment are still unproven. If McCain is serious about the world being a dangerous place, then his selection of a running mate is very unserious. If Palin were a man with the same resume, she/he would never have even been considered.

John McCain doesn't speak for this American

John McCain recounted to a town hall meeting audience last week the conversation that he had with Georgian President Saakashvili, when he told the president that "...I know I speak for every American when I say...today, we are all Georgians." I'm confident that 9 out of 10 Americans (at a minimum) can't locate Georgia on a map, don't know the names of the Georgian capital or president, and can't pronounce the names of either if they were to see them written on a page. And it is not that Americans are just ignorant (although we mostly are), but that Georgia is just inconsequential to the everyday life of the average American.

McCain's arrogant claim to speak for every American would be amusing if McCain wasn't ready to pledge American blood and money to defend this country that no one knows about. If McCain had his way, Georgia would be a member of NATO and the US would be obligated to defend her against attack. If McCain had his way, American soldiers and marines would be dying in Georgia. What exactly is the vital US interest in Georgia that would justify the loss of a single American life?

Personally, I prefer the foreign policy of our Founding Fathers to the interventionist foreign policy of McCain and his neocon advisers. As Washington said in his farewell address, "The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. ...Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none; or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.

Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. ...Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor or caprice?"

If only today's politicians (both Republican and Democrat) would abide by Washington's "great rule of conduct."

I'm Embarrassed for Big John

This video was Senator Cornyn's introduction at the TX State Republican Convention. As a Texan, I'm embarrassed. Apparently someone on Cornyn's staff thought that this was a good idea. But can he blame his staff for the fringed buckskin jacket that he is sporting at 2:13 in the video. Unless you are Davey Crockett, this is not a look that any straight man should try to pull off.

I voted for "Big John" in 2002, but I haven't been happy with Cornyn and no longer identify myself with the Republican party. I know how Ronald Reagan felt in 1962 when he switched parties and said, "I didn't leave the Democrat Party. The party left me." I'm still undecided so far in this year's election. I may opt to stay home on election day, or "waste" my vote on the Libertarian candidate. This video definitely does not bolster the likelihood of Cornyn getting my vote.

The Revolution, A Manifesto (Review, Part 1 of 2)

Manifesto, def. "A public declaration of principles, policies, or intentions, especially of a political nature."

I pre-ordered my copy of the book on Amazon and eagerly awaited it's April 30 release date. Apparently I was not alone, because Ron Paul's The Revolution, A Manifesto is at No. 5 in it's 4th week on the New York Times bestseller list after holding the top spot two weeks ago (as of June 1). Although already familiar with Dr. Paul's philosophy from following his presidential campaign and reading his articles and speeches at the Ron Paul Library, I still read the book with interest. Paul outlines the principles that ignited the "Revolution" among many folks like myself who are sick and tired of politics as usual.

Paul begins with the "false choices of American politics." He argues that there is little disagreement between the two political parties (or the R and D factions of the Government Party as I call them) on fundamental issues. The two parties may disagree on who to bomb, but neither party questions the American prerogative to wage preemptive war or play the role of world policeman. The issues that are discussed are mainly a distraction.

Dr. Paul explains the basis for his own political views; the beliefs (specifically the foreign policy) of the Founding Fathers and the Constitution. Paul expounds on his foreign policy of non-intervention. He is not an isolationist; to the contrary, Paul's foreign policy is that of Washington and Jefferson, and is summed up by this quote from Jefferson's first inaugural address, "peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none." Because of Paul's foreign policy views, his political adversaries have attempted (with success) to tie him to the 'blame America first' crowd. Paul, while believing that the 9/11 terrorists were solely responsible for their actions and that the sponsors of terrorism should be found and punished, does make the case that America's interventionist policies are bound to cause resentment. Resentment may then lead to the desire for revenge; and as Paul writes, "That revenge, in its various form, is what our CIA calls blowback - the unintended consequences of military intervention." We do not operate in a vacuum, and should not be surprised when our actions have repercussions.

Unfortunately, the government's policy of intervention around the world is accepted by both major political parties (again with the "false choices"). It not only makes us less secure, but also bears a huge cost; both in blood and dollars. The cost in terms of lives lost and shattered is enormous. 4,000+ dead American servicemen, tens of thousands more wounded, hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis dead, and 4 million Iraqi refugees. Estimates for the cost of the Iraq War are now between $2-3 trillion. This at a time when the dollar is in a downward spiral. The Iraq War vindicates Paul's non-interventionist foreign policy.

Dr. Paul takes his oath of office seriously. When he swore to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic," he meant it. During his time in Congress, Paul's vow to "never vote for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution" has earned him the nickname Dr. No. Paul illustrates the assault on our Constitution; not by some foreign terrorist, but the government. All three branches of the government have been contemptuous of the Constitution over the last several years.

Paul describes how the power of the executive branch since 9/11 has expanded beyond anything intended by the Founders or authorized by the Constitution. And how Congressional silence on executive orders and signing statements has granted implicit approval to the President's abuse of power. The singing statement is especially egregious. A signing statement is a written pronouncement issued when the President signs a bill into law. The signing statement has been used extensively by President Bush to express how, or if, he intends to enforce the provisions of the law. Paul quotes Jonathon Turley, "By using signing statements to this extent, the president become a government unto himself."

Paul goes on to make the case that the Constitution is not a "living document." If the American feel the need to change the Constitution, then there is the amendment process - as opposed to the courts interpreting the Constitution to the further a social agenda, or politicians just ignoring the document. Paul believes in original intent; that we should always consider the original intentions of the men who wrote and signed the Constitution.

Case in point. The Constitution gives the authority to declare war solely to Congress. Both parties have regularly ignored this clause of the Constitution and accepted the President's authority to commit the country to war since the Korean War began in 1950. Paul believes that the American people, through their elected representatives, should have some input on whether the US goes to war. After all, the American Revolution was fought to rid ourselves of a king. Dr. Paul quotes Robert Taft, Paul's 1950's kindred spirit, "If the President has unlimited power to involve us in war, war is more likely. History shows that...arbitrary rules are more inlined to favor war than are the people, at any time."

A President more likely to commit the country to war needs cannon fodder. A historic source of young bodies to fill the ranks is a military draft. Paul expresses his great disdain for the draft and presents his case in opposition on both moral and constitutional grounds. According to Paul, "The draft is a totalitarian institution that is based on the idea that the government owns you and can dispose of your life as wishes." The draft is antithetic to the American ideals of freedom and liberty.

Part 2 coming soon. Covering abortion, economics and civil liberties.

This is a bad idea

Vacation Bible School is a summer tradition at my house. Growing up Southern Baptist and now raising my own family in the Baptist faith tradition; one week every summer was and is set aside for VBS.

VBS includes Bible lessons, crafts, songs and activities such as puppet shows. It is an opportunity to reach out to the community and invite unchurched kids to attend a fun summertime event (giving kids something to do and their mothers a break from kids with nothing to do). VBS is staffed by church volunteers (i.e., moms).

I was made aware of this latest incarnation of VBS when my sister-in-law went to register her son for VBS at a local church.

"Children will enjoy...The coolest water recreations, delicious snacks, fantastic crafts, and incredible entertainment!

Cost is $30 per child. This is all-inclusive, children will not need additional money during the week."

All-inclusive!? Is there an open bar? The church advertises this on their website as if were some kind of a bargain. Hopefully the pay-to-play VBS scheme is not too commonplace. It seems to miss the whole point of what vacation bible school is all about.

There is still hope

In Texas today, the rule of law prevailed and a tiny bit of my faith in the system was restored. State-sponsored child abduction is not condoned by Texas courts. The Supreme Court of Texas ruled that the Child Protective Service illegally seized 468 children from their parents at the West Texas polygamist cult compound. The court stopped short of calling the CPS abduction of the polygamist's kids what it really was - collective punishment and an assault on the freedom of association.

The court ruling was based on common sense - if a case is to be made that abuse has occurred/is occurring, then present the evidence. And if there is no evidence, then send the kids home. I was happily surprised to hear that the state says that it will take immediate steps to comply with the ruling. However, I will believe it when the kids are actually returned to their parents. The state rarely relinquishes power so freely.

See various media coverage here, here, here and here.

Update: As I suspected, the state is dragging it's feet on returning the kids to their parents.

McCain shoots Republican base the bird, again

John McCain told business leaders today that immigration reform should be a top priority for the next president. Quoting the New York Times, in regard to the failed McCain-Kennedy immigration bill that would have granted amnesty to 20 million illegal aliens, "Mr. McCain expressed regret the measure did not pass, calling it a personal “failure,” as well as one by the federal government.

“Senator Kennedy and I tried very hard to get immigration reform, a comprehensive plan, through the Congress of the United States,” he said. “It is a federal responsibility and because of our failure as a federal obligation, we’re seeing all these various conflicts and problems throughout our nation as different towns, cities, counties, whatever they are, implement different policies and different programs which makes things even worse and even more confusing.”

Saving the best for last, McCain said, “They are also God’s children, and we have to do it in a human and compassionate fashion.” After all, they are honest, hardworking people - except for these POS (pardon my abbreviated French) and thousands more like them (see here, here, here and here) .

Is McCain trying to not get elected? You would think that he would at least wait until after the general election in November before stabbing the Republican base in the back.

Lipstick on a pig

"You can put lipstick and earrings on a pig, and call her Peggy Sue, but it’s still a pig." Patrick J. Buchanan

See here Pat Buchanan's commentary on the California court's gay marriage ruling. Buchanan is right on the money, as usual.

See here Jesus on marriage: "And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” " Matthew 19:4-6

McCain's supposed principles

From a McCain press release today regarding Obama and national security:
"With respect to Cuba, it is not America that needs to make unilateral concessions to the Castros -- a 'gesture of good faith' as Senator Obama said yesterday -- it is the Castro brothers who must allow the freedom they have so long denied to the Cuban people. Free the political prisoners, open the media, allow people to worship, schedule free and fair elections, and the United States will be happy to meet and talk. Until then, we cannot compromise our principles."

I, for one, believe that the US government should stop punishing the Cuban people, end the trade embargo and establish diplomatic relations with Cuba - but that is not the point. The point is McCain's hypocrisy regarding his supposed principles. He has no qualms about dealing with China.

Even though he acknowledges the "suppression of rights in China," McCain says, "Our relationship with China is important, and we value our ability to cooperate with the Chinese government on a wide variety of strategic, economic, and diplomatic fronts." So what McCain is actually saying is that we cannot compromise our principles unless you sell us a bunch of cheap crap.

Update: Cuba is listed alongside US trading partners China, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia in a report on the world's most oppressive societies prepared by Freedom House.

So why should the US establish relations with Cuba? To quote Ron Paul, "History clearly shows that free and open trade does far more to liberalize oppressive governments than trade wars. Economic freedom and political freedom are inextricably linked--when people get a taste of goods and information from abroad, they are less likely to tolerate a closed society at home. So while sanctions may serve our patriotic fervor, they mostly harm innocent citizens and do nothing to displace the governments we claim as enemies." This is the approach that we have taken towards China. Why does it not apply to Cuba?

McCain's Pipe Dream

I've read the text of John McCain's speech from May 15 (see text here) about what he hopes to achieve during his first term as president. It was one of the most idealistic, utopian pieces of fantasy that I've ever read, with no basis whatsoever in reality. The intended audience was apparently a class of grade school kids. In the first paragraph of the speech, McCain states, "We [candidates] spend too little time and offer too few specifics on that most important of questions". McCain then goes on to deliver a 3,000+ word speech with no specifics. Here are a few examples:

• "The Iraq War has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy..."

And if it doesn't work out as planned, then McCain says 100 years in Iraq "would be fine with me".

• "The Government of Pakistan has cooperated with the U.S. in successfully adapting the counterinsurgency tactics that worked so well in Iraq and Afghanistan to its lawless tribal areas where al Qaeda fighters are based."

Pakistan has only marginal control over the tribal areas. Future Pakistani leaders are not likely to be as friendly as Musharraf, and he hasn't been particularly helpful. And I guess that the successful counterinsurgency tactics McCain refers to are another future event in fantasyland.

• "The size of the Army and Marine Corps has been significantly increased, and are now better equipped and trained to defend us."
  

The US already spends more on the military (defense is a misnomer) than the rest of the world combined. The US has troops stationed in 135 countries. Do we really need to "significantly increase" the size of our military?

• "Encouraged by the success (in Sudan), the League is now occupied with using the economic power and prestige of its member states to end other gross abuses of human rights such as the despicable crime of human trafficking."

McCain promises to expand our role as self-appointed policeman of the world.

• "Community colleges and technical schools all over the country have developed worker retraining programs suited to the specific economic opportunities available in their communities and are helping millions of workers who have lost a job that won't come back find a new one that won't go away."

What are these new jobs that won't go away? I may want to steer my kids in that direction.

• "Public education in the United States is much improved thanks to the competition provided by charter and private schools...Test scores and graduation rates are rising everywhere in the country."

Charter and private schools. Don't we have those now?

• "The United States is well on the way to independence from foreign sources of oil; progress that has not only begun to alleviate the environmental threat posed from climate change, but has greatly improved our security as well."

How does McCain intend to do this? Ethanol? Invading and annexing Iran?

• "Construction has begun on twenty new nuclear reactors thanks to improved incentives and a streamlined regulatory process."

Apparently nobody has told McCain that the nuclear power plant licensing process takes several years. Submit a completed license application into the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission tomorrow and you will not have started construction by the end of McCain's first term.

• "Voluntary national service has grown in popularity in part because of the educational benefits used as incentives, as well as frequent appeals from the bully pulpit of the White House, but mostly because the young Americans, no less than earlier generations, understand that true happiness is much greater than the pursuit of pleasure, and can only be found by serving causes greater than self-interest."

If you are providing incentives, then it's not really voluntary is it. And McCain's whole shtick about serving causes greater than self -interest reminds me too much of the Karl Marx slogan, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need."

And who can say no to:

• "The United States has experienced several years of robust economic growth, and Americans again have confidence in their economic future."

• "The world food crisis has ended, inflation is low, and the quality of life not only in our country, but in some of the most impoverished countries around the world is much improved."

• "Health care has become more accessible to more Americans than at any other time in history."

It all sounds great to me (jn). The sad thing is that there are probably American sheeple out there thinking that this was an inspiring speech (aside from McCain and his speech writers).

Definition of Marriage

According to my version of Webster's (touted on the cover jacket as "Today's Most Up-To-Date Dictionary" when published in 1984), marriage is defined as: Legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife.

According to the California Supreme Court (comprised of six out of seven Republican-appointed judges) , CA law limiting marriage to a man and woman violates the constitutional rights of same-sex couples.

Apparently a dictionary was not available during deliberations of the court.

C.S. Lewis Quote of the Day

“If individuals live only seventy years, then a state, or a nation, or a civilisation, which may last for a thousand years, is more important than an individual. But if Christianity is true, then the individual is not only more important but incomparably more important, for he is everlasting and the life of a state or a civilisation, compared with his, is only a moment.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I've been pondering on this quote for the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure it means what I think it means.

McCain Won't Jaw-Jaw

John McCain was on the Hugh Hewitt show today and talked about Barack Obama's willingness to meet with and talk to the leaders of Iran and Cuba. (see transcript) McCain said, "...but I do now that he does not, has not displayed the judgment which comes from experience and knowledge and background, whether it be saying that he would sit down with Ahmadinejad and talk face to face with him, or Raul Castro and talk directly to him..." I personally don't see Obama's suggested attempt to settle disputes with our enemies peacefully as some outrageous betrayal of God, mom and apple pie. As Winston Churchill said, "To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war." And Churchill was quite the war-monger himself.

It is not as if sit-down talks with our nation's enemies are unprecedented. As Obama has said, "Ronald Reagan and Democratic presidents like JFK constantly spoke to the Soviet Union at a time when Ronald Reagan called them an evil empire. And the reason is because they understood that we may not trust them and they may pose an extraordinary danger to this country, but we had the obligation to find areas where we can potentially move forward.” Numerous US-Soviet summits were held during the Cold War. Eisenhower and Kennedy both met with Khrushchev. Johnson met with Soviet Premier Kosygin in 1967, while the Soviets were supplying and training our enemy in Vietnam (the same thing that we have accused the Iranians of doing). Nixon, Ford and Carter each met with Brezhnev. Reagan met with Gorbachev, leading up to the peaceful end of the Soviet Union.

Instead of showing leadership, McCain sounds more like a child whose feelings have been hurt. He is going to take his ball and go home (or bomb Iran).

And by the way, I'm no fan of Obama. I believe that he is a far-left liberal and there is not a snowballs chance in h&!! that I would ever vote for him (I also think that Hugh Hewitt is a wanker).

McCain shoots Republican base the bird

McCain proves yet again that his views on immigration are more aligned with Ted Kennedy than with the Republican base. McCain used Cinco de Mayo to launch a Spanish language website and reach out to Hispanic voters. Why the Spanish language website? The ability to speak English is supposedly a prerequisite for American citizenship (and the right to vote that comes with citizenship).

McCain said that "everything about our Hispanic voters is tailor-made to the Republican message." Well, not quite everything. In fact, Hispanics don't share traditional conservative social values with the typical Republican voter. The illegitimacy rate for Hispanics is double that of whites (roughly 50% to 25%). The high school dropout rate is 3.5 times that of whites and double that of blacks (22%, 6% and 10% respectively). [Note that these numbers are from the US Dept. of Education, so I'm guessing that the numbers for all three groups are probably twice as high in actuality.] I could go on... So much for the strong Hispanic family values touted by the open borders crowd (McCain included).

McCain also said, "A lot of times it saddens me to see these conflicting approaches toward the issue of illegal immigration because we would not have this problem if the federal government had carried out its responsibilities." Wait, does he mean that the government should have carried out its responsibilities and enforced the law, secured the border and deported illegal aliens. No. McCain means that the government should have granted amnesty to the 20 million illegal aliens that reside in our country.

Republicans that turned a blind eye to the real John McCain will get what they deserve if he is elected president.

Federal Gas Tax Holiday Just a Gimmick

Candidates Clinton and McCain are both doing what politicians do best - pandering for votes and making empty promises. They have both tried to take advantage of voter's concerns over high gasoline prices by talking about a federal gas tax holiday (pandering for votes). I calculated that a suspension of the 18¢ a gallon gas tax for the summer months would save my family around $60-75. That assumes that I would actually see any savings. I'm guessing that the 18¢ a gallon would actually end up in the pockets of the oil companies and that I would pay roughly the same for gas. The gasoline tax is actually one tax that I don't mind paying. The gas tax finances road building projects nationwide, which is actually a legitimate function of the federal government. Of course, neither Clinton or McCain has yet to introduce any legislation to enact their plans (empty promises). Hopefully the voters are not gullible enough to fall for this ruse.

It would be refreshing if one of the candidates actually presented a long-term energy plan instead of feel good platitudes. Maybe something like leadership on promoting nuclear technology as an alternative power source. Or how about a $70 billion prize to makers of the first alternative fuel vehicle that people would actually want to drive (I just threw $70 billion out there because that is the amount Bush just requested to fund the continued occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan for another year). Instead we get farm subsidy-driven ethanol (more pandering for votes) leading to food riots in the third world.

Big Law Day Blowout

Yesterday the country celebrated the 50th anniversary of Law Day. I had never even heard of Law Day, but here is the President's proclamation regarding Law Day. Pretty ironic from a president who has done little to halt an invasion of our country by 20 million illegal aliens (immigration laws apparently were not being celebrated). And of course the rule of law does not apply to the Bush/Cheney administration. Bush has shown little regard for the Fourth Amendment ''right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." Of course, the end justifies the means when waging the "war on terror".

The President called upon all the people of the United States to observe Law Day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I complied with the President's request by obeying all traffic laws during my commute home from work.

A candidate that I can support

The Constitution Party has nominated a candidate that I can support at their convention this weekend in Kansas City. The party selected pastor, radio host and columnist Chuck Baldwin over party newcomer Alan Keyes. Baldwin ran on the party ticket in 2004 as Michael Peroutka's vice presidential candidate. Keyes, on the other hand, left the GOP and joined the Constitution Party 10 days prior to the convention. Judging from comments by Keyes' national political director, Keyes affiliation with the Constitution Party ended with his defeat.

I have become familiar with Baldwin through his columns on VDare.com. Chuck Baldwin embodies the 7 principals of the Constitution Party, which are:

1. Life: For all human beings, from conception to natural death;
2. Liberty: Freedom of conscience and actions for the self-governed individual;
3. Family: One husband and one wife with their children as divinely instituted;
4. Property: Each individual's right to own and steward personal property without government burden;
5. Constitution: and Bill of Rights interpreted according to the actual intent of the Founding Fathers;
6. States' Rights: Everything not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the federal government is reserved for the state and local jurisdictions;
7. American Sovereignty: American government committed to the protection of the borders, trade, and common defense of Americans, and not entangled in foreign alliances.

Here is an archive of Chuck Baldwin columns dating back to 2001.

Unfortunately for voters in Texas who would support Baldwin, ballot access for third parties in Texas is difficult (if not impossible) to obtain. Texas requires petition signatures numbering 1% of the votes cast in the 2004 presidential election submitted by May 12. That is 74,000 signatures of persons who did not vote in either the Democrat or Republican party primaries. I voted for Ron Paul in the Republican primary so I am not even eligible to sign a petition. I am sure that when the Republican party was established in 1856, they were held to equally rigorous standard to achieve ballot access (jn).

So although Chuck Baldwin is a candidate whose beliefs mirror my own, Texas ballot access law (written by Democrats and Republicans for the benefit of Democrats and Republicans) will likely not allow me to cast my vote for him come November.

Update: As I suspected, Alan Keyes brief flirtation with the Constitution Party was all about Alan Keyes' vanity. He announced that would not support party nominee Chuck Baldwin, saying, "His policies of appeasement and non-involvement (in foreign affairs) are irresponsible and unsustainable." Keyes apparently couldn't be bothered to even read the party platform before running for the party nomination. The party's stance on foreign policy is pretty clear.

Keyes' high opinion of himself was evident when he suggested that the party merely used him to attract new supporters. I personally don't see the appeal of a candidate that has run three failed senate campaigns and failed to register 1% support in any 2008 Republican state primary. I liked Alan Keyes when he was a fresh face in the conservative movement, but the perennial candidate shtick has become somewhat embarrassing.

15 years ago...

Tomorrow is the 15th anniversary of the government massacre of the Branch Davidians. The government gassed and burned to death 76 people, including 21 innocent children under the age of 16, at the Branch Davidian compound outside of Waco, TX.

A government investigation exonerated the government of any wrongdoing.

As Anthony Gregory wrote on LewRockwell.com, "Waco is still important, because it illustrates the violent nature of the state, the fact that political power flows from the barrel of a gun, and the scary truth that the U.S. government is ultimately no different from all others in this respect."

Out of the frying pan, into the fire

The 416 children taken from their parents at the polygamist cult compound will likely be placed into the Texas foster care system. Judging from a 2006 statement from former Texas Comptroller Strayhorn on the foster care system, these kids are out of the frying pan and into the fire. The following quotes are from Strayhorn's statement:

"I found, from information provided by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, in Fiscal 2003, 30 foster children died in our state's care; in Fiscal 2004, 38 foster children died; and in Fiscal 2005, 48 foster children died...If you compare the number of deaths of children in our state's population to the number of deaths in our state's foster care system, a child is four times more likely to die in our state's foster care system."

"Based on Fiscal 2004 data provided by the Health and Human Services Commission, about 100 children received treatment for poisoning from medications; 63 foster children received medical treatment for rape that occurred while in the foster care system; and 142 children gave birth while in the state foster care system."

Strayhorn's office produced a 2004 report titled, "Forgotten Children," that detailed the abysmal performance of the Texas foster care system. Apparently, child abduction and abuse is OK as long as it is state sanctioned.

"First they came..."

What stops the government from taking my kids away like they took away the kids at the polygamist cult compound? Nothing. The whole episode reminds me of the poem "First they came...", written about events in Nazi Germany and attributed to Pastor Martin Niemoller.

"First they came for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

There is no doubt that this polygamist cult is weird, but that is not a crime. If the government wants to prosecute these people for breaking polygamy laws, then so be it. But it seems downright un-American that the government can take 416 kids away from their families without any evidence of wrongdoing by the parents of those kids. There is alleged abuse in the case of one child. If the supposed 16 year old informant was abused, then arrest her "husband" or her parents. I say 'supposed' because I don't believe that there ever was any 16 year old caller; they can't find her because she does not exist.

Child Protective Services workers are judge and jury in this case. And CPS spokesman Darrell Azar's statement to the Houston Chronicle reveals that the parents have already been found guilty, ' "Every step taken by CPS in the court has been done with one goal in mind: what is best for the children, to get at the truth and stop the abuse," Azar said. "Every time we remove children from an abusive situation, people will become upset. Unfortunately, the women who have returned to the compound have been unwilling or unable to protect these children from a pattern of sexual abuse." ' Be assured that you or I would receive the same treatment if allegations were made against us; the truth be damned.

The only good thing about this whole situation is that at least the government didn't go in and kill everyone like they did in Waco.

McCain finally speaks out on faith

Does anyone else find it pathetic that John McCain walks around with a pocket full of good luck charms? He carries a lucky feather, a lucky compass, a lucky penny, a lucky nickel and a lucky quarter. He found a dime, but it was heads down - no luck there - so he did not add it to his collection. And he observes other superstitions, like throwing spilled salt over one's shoulder, that went out of vogue with witch burnings. This story reads like something out the Onion.

I find it troublesome that the potential President of the United States, the most powerful man in the world, could hold sincere beliefs in something with no basis of reason or truth. I would discourage belief in such stuff by my 5 year old son, of course he is not foolish enough to believe such hokum.

Support the Troops, Vote Republican

I saw a 'Support the Troops, Vote Republican' bumper sticker today and thought it somewhat ironic.

The Bush administration deceived the American public (or if you give Bush/Cheney the benefit of the doubt; they are not liars, merely incompetent) and waged a pre-emptive war against a country that posed no threat to our security. The war has done nothing to increase our future security. If anything, our occupation of Iraq has inflamed anti-US sentiment in the Muslim world and created more potential jihadists.

This needless war has cost the lives of 4,032 soldiers and marines to date. At least 30,000 more servicemen have been wounded; many returning home without limbs lost in IED attacks. Tours of duty have been extended from 12 to 15 months. According to statistics provided by the Army in this New York Times article, "Among the 513,000 active-duty soldiers who have served in Iraq since the invasion of 2003, more than 197,000 have deployed more than once, and more than 53,000 have deployed three or more times." Multiple deployments, with only 12 months between deployments, are causing growing mental health problems (see here and here). That is an odd concept of supporting the troops.

In Bush's warped sense of reality he probably thinks that he is doing the troops a favor, sending them off on some grand adventure. As he recently related to military personnel in Afghanistan, " 'I must say, I'm a little envious,' Bush said. 'If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed.' 'It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks.' "

If you really want to support the troops, then bring them home.

Is McCain a warmonger?

The Obama camp apologized last week when radio host Ed Shultz called John McCain a warmonger at an Obama fundraising event. My copy of Webster's dictionary defines warmonger as, "One who stirs up or advocates war."

I wrote here about McCain's apparent confusion regarding Sunni versus Shiite Muslims. He has repeated the "gaffe" at least twice more in the following days; once in a written statement on his own website and again yesterday while questioning Gen. Petraeus in the senate hearing. I now believe that he is deliberately trying to confuse the issue and link Al Qaeda and Iran. Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels said, "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." This is right out of the Bush-Cheney playbook. After all, over 30% of Americans still believe that Saddam Hussein was involved with the 9/11 attacks.

And here is McCain jokingly singing 'Bomb Iran' to the tune of the Beach Boys song 'Barbara Ann' at a town hall meeting. (Full disclosure: I sang the same song during the Iran hostage crisis; of course I was in the sixth grade and was not running for president of the U.S.)

Is McCain a warmonger? Yep, I have to agree with Ed Shultz.

Update: Foreign policy advisers include neocons Max Boot, Randy Scheunemann and Robert Kagan. All of them support the use of the American military to spread American democratic ideals around the world. It calls McCain's judgment into question when he surrounds himself with advisers who were all exceedingly wrong on the biggest foreign policy issue of the age, the war in Iraq.

The socialization myth

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, especially when the picture is a clever cartoon from Inflatable Studios. When educrats talk about socialization, what they mean is conforming to the system. The recent California court opinion that could effectively outlaw homeschooling in CA stated, "A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare." The system is about raising good sheep and my wife and I have decided not to turn our kids over to the custody of the government shepherd.

C.S. Lewis Quote of the Day

"You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising non-sense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Charlton Heston, RIP

Although his role as Moses in 'The Ten Commandments' is probably his most famous, this is how I prefer to remember Heston:

As Taylor from "Planet of the Apes",


Or as president of the NRA and spokesman for the right to bear arms.

Know your Muslims - Sunni or Shiite

I don't really care about the differences among the divisions of Islam, but I do believe that it is important to know who is who. Twenty percent of the world population is Muslim and there are now more Muslims than Catholics. So here is a scorecard.

Approximately 80-85% of Muslims are Sunni. Nations that are majority Sunni include Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and the other N. African states, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Bangladesh, Syria, Kuwait and Turkey. Kurds and most Palestinian Muslims are Sunni. Russia and India are both over 10% Muslim and Nigeria (the most populated country in Africa) is 50% Muslim - all predominately Sunni. Although not typically thought of for its Muslim population, India has the third largest population of Muslims after Indonesia and Pakistan.

The balance of the world's Muslims are mostly Shiite (or Shi'a). Nations that are predominately Shiite include Iran, Bahrain, Azerbaijan and Iraq (65%). Lebanon's Muslims are nearly split 50-50, but the terrorist group Hizbollah is Shiite. Turkey, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and India all have substantial minority Shiite populations.

Sources: CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia

That's my King too

I had never heard this before it was played at the beginning of our church service a few weeks ago. I made me want to say amen. The preacher is the late S.M. Lockridge. Lockridge was the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church is San Diego, CA for forty years. It is apparently somewhat famous, considering that there are a dozen different videos for it on YouTube. This is a condensed version.

Peace Symbol is 50

The peace symbol turned 50 years old last week. I had no idea of the origin of the peace symbol until I read this article. The symbol is derived from the flag signaling (semaphore) alphabet and was created by a British anti-nuclear activist. With the 'N' for nuclear and the 'D' for disarmament placed on a circle symbolizing the Earth.

Pray for 50 more years with no nuclear war.

Imagine whirled peas

I was reminded today that John McCain first laid out his plan to bring peace to Iraq nearly two years ago when he told a group of New York Republican bigwigs that, "One of the things I would do if I were President would be to sit the Shiites and the Sunnis down and say, ‘Stop the bullshit,’”. If only President Bush had adopted that strategy. If McCain is elected president, I am confident that a thousand years of animosity will be put aside and the Shiite/Sunni conflict will be quickly resolved. And if it works in Iraq, surely it will work with the Israeli/Palestinian, China/Taiwan, China/Tibet, etc., conflicts as well.

McCain revealed his much touted foreign policy expertise more than once while in the Middle East last week when he claimed that Iran is training Al Qaeda, see here and here. Although his campaign claims that he merely misspoke (multiple times), I believe that one of the following is more likely: (1) McCain is ignorant of simple facts about the Middle East such as the conflict between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, (2) he is senile, or (3) he is deliberately trying to deceive the American sheeple. If any of the above are true then he should not be the next president.

Longhorn Lament

What if...? While watching the Longhorns clobber Stanford 82-62 to reach the final eight of the NCAA hoops tournament, I couldn't help but wonder what if...? What if Kevin Durant, the college basketball player of the year last year, had returned to UT for his sophomore season? Longhorn fans have asked the question before - when Chris Mihm left after his junior year and especially when T.J. Ford left after leading the Horns to the Final Four in his sophomore season.

What if? A question asked by sports fans everywhere.

He is risen

Happy Easter. He is risen.

It is still the greatest story ever told. The Son of God became a man ("And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..." John 1:14) Born of a virgin, both fully God and fully man. He lived a perfect, sinless life. He then humbled Himself to the point of death, taking the world's sin upon himself and suffering death on the cross. Paying for us the debt that we ourselves are unable to pay. After three days in the grave He rose again, conquering sin and death.

"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the son of the world." John 1:29

Those who belief and trust in Him, and repent of their sins are redeemed and saved from the rightful judgment and death that is the result of our sin.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
"That if you confess with you mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved." Romans 10:9

He is risen indeed.

And now for something completely different...

It's the 5th anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, but instead of dwelling on that debacle I'm opting to celebrate the brighter, lighter side of life. This video makes me laugh. Of course, I'm pretty easily amused.

What happened to the Southern Baptists?

As a follow-up to yesterday's post regarding Just War, I'm linking to an article by Laurence Vance titled "What Happened to the Southern Baptists?"

As a Southern Baptist myself, I have a hard time reconciling evangelical support of the war-mongering Bush administration with the teachings of Jesus Christ. Now I'm no red-letter Christian, but I don't believe that we should ignore the Sermon on the Mount (i.e., blessed are the gentle, blessed are the peacemakers, etc.).

Anyway, that's my two cents.

Just War? Five years later

Five years ago, in the weeks/months leading up to our invasion of Iraq, I heard a sermon on 'Just War' from the preacher of the Southern Baptist megachurch that I attended at the time. I recall he used as an outline the criteria for 'Just War' conceived by Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. The preacher's intent was to get the sheep in the pews behind the President and his impending war. And it worked. I'm sad to say that I was right there with the rest of the flock.

Let's look again at the criteria for a 'Just War'. Five years later, we can say that the war was not/is not a 'Just War'.

1. Proper or just cause - To redress a wrong suffered or as Aquinas wrote, "...those who are attacked, should be attacked because they deserve it on account of some fault." We were told that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and that there were links between the Saddam regime and al Qaida. No weapons of mass destruction were found (and you can be sure we have turned over every stone). And last week the findings of a Pentagon-sponsored investigation that reviewed 600,000 Iraqi documents searching for a link between the Saddam Hussein regime and al Qaida were released. The exhaustive review found no evidence of a connection. The bottom line - we were lied into a war by the Bush administration and there was no just cause.
2. Proper authority - Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution states that, "The Congress shall have the power... to declare war". There was never a declaration of war from the Congress. The President does not have the authority to wage war. Look for President McCain to take full advantage of the executive powers usurped by Bush.
3. Reasonable chance of success - The cakewalk that we were promised did not materialize. Five years (and 4,000 dead troops later) later and there is no end in sight. We won WWII in less than four years. John McCain says that 100 years in Iraq "would be fine with me." That is not my definition (or any other sane person's) definition of success.
4. Proportionality - The benefit gained must be worth the harm or evil inflicted by the war. As noted above, Iraq was no threat to the U.S. And there are tens of thousands of dead innocent Iraqis, 2 million Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan, another 4 million Iraqis displaced within Iraq, thousands of dead Americans and a trillion dollar price tag. Was it worth it?
5. Last resort - all viable peaceful alternatives have been exhausted. Since there was no just cause, war was definitely not the last resort.

The Iraq War meets none of the criteria noted above. I'd like to think that the preacher who delivered that sermon would take the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the start of the war to admit that he was wrong, apologize to his congregation and come out in opposition to the war. But I won't hold my breath.

Homeschooling in Texas

The California homeschool case in the news this week got me thinking about how fortunate we are in Texas to have such liberal homeschool requirements.

In the 1987 case of Leeper v. Arlington Indep. School Dist the court ruled that home schools in Texas can legally operate as private schools. As a result of the Leeper decision, home schools do not have to initiate contact with a school district, submit to home visits, have curriculum approved or have any specific teacher certification. Home schools need only have a written curriculum, conduct it in a bona fide manner and teach math, reading, spelling, grammar, and good citizenship.

That's it.

Update: Those are merely the state requirements. You need a willing wife with the patience of Job to actually pull it off.

California homeschoolers under assault

"Parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children," Justice H. Walter Croskey wrote in a Feb. 28 opinion for the 2nd District Court of Appeals.

According to Justice Croskey, homeschooling parents in California must have teaching credentials or they could be subject to criminal action. An estimated 166,000 students in California are home schooled and the overwhelming majority may be affected by the court's ruling. CA has traditionally had a 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' attitude toward homeschooling. Homeschool advocates such as Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) are closely watching the case and Pacific Justice Institute will represent the homeschoolers before the CA Supreme Court.

The CA court opinion states that, "A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare." So according to the state of California, loyalty to the state is paramount - your children be damned. (Note: No other primary purposes of the ed. system were mentioned in the court opinion)

Now don't get me wrong, I hope to instill a love of country in my children, but this sounds like a bunch of Marxist crap to me. I plan on educating my children so that they can think for themselves and provide for themselves and their families.

And after all, the American government education system is not doing such a wonderful job. See here and here. Could my wife (with a degree in accounting) really do any worse. We don't think so.

Lessons to Learn: (1) Don't trust the government to do what is best for your children, and (2) Don't live in the People's Republic of California.

Texas Primary Election

Today was primary election day in Texas. I avoided the lines and cast my vote for Ron Paul on the first day of early voting. I can't figure out why everyone doesn't early vote. It is so convenient - you can vote at any polling place in the county. I voted at a polling place near my office during my lunch hour and was in and out in ten minutes. Although convenient, this election cycle reinforced my dislike of electronic voting; I have little confidence that my vote was actually counted.

I'm watching the returns on politico.com and the Office of the Texas Secretary of State and Obama and Hillary are even with 28% of precincts reporting. Hillary is winning big among heavily-Hispanic counties (Bexar-San Antonio, Nueces-Corpus Christi, Webb-Laredo, Cameron-Brownsville) while Obama is winning big in Harris, Travis and Dallas counties. Unfortunately for Obama, Hispanics outnumber blacks by 2-to-1 in Texas. I don't have a dog in this fight, but it is fun to watch if you're a political junkie like me.

Republican voters continue to disappoint as McCain has a 57-37 lead over Huck, with Paul only garnering ~5%. However, there was one pleasant outcome today. I am happy to say that voters in U.S Representative District 14 are selecting Dr. Paul by a 2-to-1 margin. Unless something drastic happens after I go to bed, Ron Paul will be returning to the Washington.

Although Dr. Paul has repeatedly said that he will not run as a third party candidate there are rumors on the web about a possible Ron Paul/Bob Barr third party ticket. The Constitution Party nominating convention is April 23-26. I will wait and see. But I'm not holding my breath - I went ahead and removed the Ron Paul for President stickers from the bumpers of our cars this evening.

Update: Ron Paul crushed his opponent, Chris Peden, 70-30%. Dr. Paul will run unopposed in the November election and will return to Washington for another term.

Why kids in Finland are so smart

An alternate title to the article, 'What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart?' in the Wall Street Journal could be 'Why American Government Schools Suck'. Although previously unaware of the success of Finnish schools, I happily noted while reading the article that several of the reasons attributed to the success of schools in Finland are things that we set out to do when we decided to homeschool our kids. The similarities between the Finnish system and our homeschool include:
• A more relaxed, back-to-basics approach with no pressure to perform on standardized tests. This includes not assigning a lot of homework. Hopefully this will result in a less pressured childhood for our kids. Kids in Finland don't even start school until age 7 and even in high school rarely have more than a half-hour of home work a night.
• Create lessons tailored to the needs of the individual child. Children are not the same and it is ridiculous to expect all children to learn using the same techniques/methods.
• Instill a love for reading. By reading to the kids from an early age and providing plenty of books for them to read we hope that the kids will become independent learners and pursue their own interests.

I thought is was interesting that the Finns don't even spend as much money per student as the U.S does ($8700 vs. $7500). The article states that American educators have gone to Finland to try and figure out how to replicate the success. Somehow I doubt that they will be successful. On the other hand, I have the utmost confidence that our family will see similar results.

I'm ready for March Madness

It is a good time to be a basketball fan in Texas, especially if the teams that you root for are the Texas Longhorns and the Houston Rockets. The No. 5 ranked Longhorns are possibly the hottest team in college hoops. The Horns went undefeated in the month of February for the first time ever and may have earned a No. 1 seed in the tournament if they can finish the season by beating Tech in Lubbock and Nebraska and have a good conference tourney.

And you have to like this if you're a Horns fan. "I'm definitely coming back (to play at Texas as a senior). I'm not looking at stuff like that. I'm not looking at any awards or the NBA." - Texas guard D.J. Augustin. Of course we'll see if he's still singing the same tune in April.

And the Rockets are definitely the hottest team in the NBA, winning their 14th game in a row tonight. What they will do now that Yao is lost for the season is a huge questions mark. Can McGrady actually step up,be the superstar that he supposedly is and carry the team? I'm expected the worst and hoping for the best.

Update: So much for a No. 1 seed for the Horns. They were upset by Tech in Lubbock 83-80.

Update II: The Rockets win their team record 16th straight game (3/5/08)

I'm proud to be an American (usually)

Presidential candidate Barack Obama's wife Michelle stuck her foot in her mouth last week when she said, "For the first time... I'm proud of my country". I will give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she either misspoke or was misunderstood. Cindy McCain quickly let it be known that, “I always have been and will always be extremely proud of my country."

I believe that there is middle ground somewhere between the views of these two women, one of whom will likely be the next first lady of our country. There is certainly much to be proud of about America. It is still the land of the free (mostly - see below) and home of the brave. Opportunities still exist for people who are willing to work hard. We are free to worship as we please.

However, for Americans who are not too preoccupied by the modern equivalents of bread and circuses, there are numerous reasons why one may not be so proud. Such as:

• There are 1 million unborn babies murdered in our country every year. And this tragedy goes largely unmentioned except at election time when the Republican faction of the Government party want the Christian vote.
  
• One of every 100 American adults is in jail or prison. The U.S incarcerates more people than any other nation and is also the leader in inmates per capita. This is not healthy for a nation, whatever the reasons/causes may be.
  
• Nearly 40% of American children are born out of wedlock. Again, not healthy for the future of our nation.
  
• Our country launched a pre-emptive, i.e, unprovoked, war in Iraq that has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis, not to mention 4 thousand dead Americans and a trillion dollar price tag.
  
• Supposedly 40% of Americans attend church on a weekly basis. Based on my neighborhood on a Sunday morning I guess that the number is maybe half of that (and I'm in the Bible belt).

And don't get me started on the government. Of course no one should make the mistake of considering the country and the government as one and the same thing. I can be proud of my country while I detest the government.

The kid's favorite

This is the kids favorite video courtesy of YouTube. Their favorite part is at 3:15 into the video.

You Never Let Go by Matt Redman



Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I'm caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won't turn back
I know You are near

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We'll live to know You here on the earth

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

Thoughts on 'The Pilgrim's Progress'

I'm currently wading through John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress". If you ever decide to read this Christian allegory classic then I recommend the modern English version. However, even in the original version (published 1678), Bunyan's story of the character Christian's pilgrimage is an interesting and worthwhile read (not to mention theologically enlightening).

Update: If you are buying a used book, do a quick scan to make sure it is not missing pages 177-208. I enjoyed Part I of the book (Christian's Pilgrimage), but the only book more sleep inducing for me than Part II was Dickens' "The Pickwick Papers". "The Pickwick Papers" put me to sleep every night for months.

A more important topic

Now that Dr. Paul's bid for the presidency is over, let's move on to a more important topic. Pitchers and catchers reported to spring training today and the middle of the Astros lineup is murderer's row. Tejada, Berkman, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence will need to provide plenty of run production to support a weak pitching staff (Roy O. excluded).

To celebrate a new baseball season why not waste some time at a unique website that I came across - 88 Topps Cards. They take a look at the 1988 Topps baseball card set, card by card, and provide some amusing commentary as well. The only thing better would have been a 1978 Topps Cards website - 1978 being the midst of my own card collecting years.

McCain - A Candidate Inspires

Although not a supporter of Barack Obama, I do like this video. And as the video says, good luck with that in November.

I'm throwing in the towel

In a message last week to his supporters Ron Paul ruled out a third party candidacy, which means that I'm throwing in the towel on the 2008 presidential election.

I won't remove the 'Ron Paul for President' sticker from my bumper until after the March 4 Texas primary and will still cast my primary vote for Dr. Paul, but my hopes for real change in Washington (not the socialist hell disguised as change that is promised by Obama) have been extinguished.

Although sometimes frustrating, Ron Paul's candidacy has been very formative in my own political beliefs. I've come to realize that there is no place for me and my beliefs in the Republican party. I cannot support the perpetual war candidate. (As a selfish aside - my son will be draft age in 12 years, just 1/8 of the way through McCain's 100 year plan for Iraq.) And of course the Democratic party offers no alternative. As disgusted as I am with the GOP, the democrats are still socialists who think it is OK to murder unborn babies.

The lesser of two evils is still evil, so I will either stay home in November or vote for the Libertarian/Constitution party candidate. Either way, come January 20, 2009 we will have a new president; and I will still go to work every day, pay my taxes, pay my bills, love my wife and kids, cheer for the Texas Longhorns, take my family to church on Sunday, and put my faith in God (and not any man).