Growing up

Glenn Beck asks why politicians aren’t doing anything about this? I wanna know why more citizens aren’t worried about this? And why they still think we need more government programs.

Somebody help me out here…

I watched American Idol last night. I do every week. Its not my favorite show, but Carrie loves it, so I do what any good husband should.

Anyway, Carrie and I have been noticing a phenomenon recently regarding who stays and goes on Idol. Pretty much, no matter how bad you sing, if Simon says its good, you’ll be back in the next round. I have yet to see America vote differently.

Now I will tell you, one might ask whether or not Simon just says bad things to bad singers. Not necessarily. This season, Kristy Lee Cook is STILL on the show, and to be polite, she sucks. Hard. Also, David Hernandez lasted two weeks longer than he should have, on Simon’s comments alone. One week he was so out of tune that I had to mute the television, and Simon said it was his “best performance of the competition”.  And he didn’t go home that week. Basically, what Carrie and I have noticed is that the viewers of Idol are easily manipulated by Simon… which I’m sure he knew going into this TV show. He could essentially pick the winner, and make the ratings good, all by how he doles out his praise and criticism.

My question is, how much does the media affect the election? Would people have thought Ron Paul was crazy if they hadn’t heard story after story after story  where the mainstream media said that he was? Can the American people elect a President against the will of the media?

I can’t comment on this. Its absolutely revolting. Realize my friends, that our governments are trying to ban homeschooling.

I don’t know if this will actually be a series or not, though it looks promising as there are tons of things that make me angry, but as of right now, there is nothing that is making me madder than the government forcing gas companies to add up to 10% ethanol in all gasoline.

About 3 weeks ago, I started noticing that every few tanks I was getting significantly less mpg than normal. I reset my odometer every fill up, cause I like to know what kind of mileage I’m getting. Anyway, on a normal tank of 12 gallons I was getting about 350 miles before I was extremely low on fuel. However, I started noticing that every now and then, I’d end up with about 290-310 before I was forced to fill up fearing that my car was going to run out of gas. I wasn’t sure what to blame on this. Initially, I thought maybe there was a problem with my car… maybe I bought gas at a discount station, but then one day, I actually noticed the small sign above at the filling station at which I was buying gas. All of the sudden, it clicked.

I have a 96 Acura Integra, manual transmission, GSR (the fast kind). The manual says that you should put 91 grade unleaded in for best performance. Since 91 doesn’t really exist anymore, I tend to go every other tank with Plus Grade (89) and Premium Grade (93) which I figure balances out to a cool 91. The car has run fine doing this, except occasionally if I get Plus Grade at Kroger or another discount place, I will hear some pinging in the engine during acceleration.

But this Ethanol stuff is NOT MADE FOR MY CAR. Newer cars are built to handle the low quality fuel, but higher performance vehicles, especially older ones like mine, are definitely not. Ethanol is 85 Grade. And depending upon how much of it is added to the fuel at any given station (up to 10%) my gas mileage, as well as my engine quality, drop proportionally. Ethanol only gets 30% of the mileage of regular fuel, I found out in a news story the other day, so it makes sense as to why my MPG have been lower. I initially tried avoiding stations that put ethanol in their fuel, but I discovered, the government is requiring it. Thank you government. I am holding you responsible when my car breaks down because of the crappy gas you are forcing me to buy.

Note: I do not mind paying a little bit more to get, you know, real gasoline. I would gladly do it. And I imagine, refineries and stations would gladly produce it for my consumption, if , you know, the government wasn’t so freakin obsessed with trying to force the market to move to alternative fuels when they aren’t cost feasible yet. Not to mention, their tinkering with things has shot the price of corn through the roof, so, pretty much everything you buy at the grocery store is significantly more expensive than it was just 2 years ago. I used to buy eggs for 79 cents. They are 1.79 now. Someone please shoot me. Its just going to get worse.

It always does. Look what happened when some California schools banned junk food.

First, since today was Easter, here’s a scene from my favorite Jesus based movie/play.  Not the most scripturally accurate, but I love that it captures the political stuff that was going on at the time. Not to mention, the music is rockin.

Second, according to the London Telegraph, we narrowly avoided a “derivatives chernobyl” last week with the Bear Sterns bailout. We can only bail out so many banking corporations before hyperinflation sets in.

And third, for theology junkies, Richard Beck is discussing the merits and problems of Penal Substitution… if you haven’t read much theology, be ready to think. A lot.

The desire for an increase of wealth can be satisfied through exchange, which is the only method possible in a capitalist economy, or by violence and petition as in a militarist society, where the strong acquire by force, the weak by petitioning.

-Ludwig Von Mises

Hope you enjoy it as well….

Peter Schiff won this debate. Notice how smug the Keynesian Laffer is. I will admit, I’ve used to the Laffer Curve in debates before, and I think its valid, but in arguing for limited government,  it surely isn’t. The argument for low taxes for a true conservative shouldn’t be that it brings in more revenue, but that the federal government shouldn’t need that amount of revenue to operate as it should.

Anyway, Schiff is pretty near prophetic in this video. And Laffer’s arrogance and condescension leaves him with egg on his face a year and a half later.

I’m reposting an article from Lew Rockwell by Fr. Emmanuel Charles McCarthy. Its a great piece.

As there are uses and abuses, by commission and omission, of history, theology, sociology, psychology, etc., in the service of ideology and politics, so also there are uses and abuses by commission and omission of religious liturgy for the same purposes. Just in case your Palm Sunday and Holy Week liturgies do not communicate it clearly, or just in case your priest, minister, bishop, preacher or pastor do not tell you it from the pulpit, Palm Sunday and Holy Week are 100% about the victorious and salvific Nonviolent Coming of God into His Nonviolent Kingdom through the Nonviolent Messiah Jesus.

The Palm Sunday narrative of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey is recorded in all four Gospels, which means it is highly probable that it is based on an historical event. But, Jesus has journeyed to Jerusalem on foot from Galilee, why then does He choose to complete His journey by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey? There is no serious scholarly doubt that by this gesture He is symbolically referencing Himself and His mission to Zechariah 9:9–10. There is also no serious scholarly doubt that the Apostolic communities as evidenced by the Four Evangelists were well aware of this and understood its importance to the proper proclamation of the Gospel in general, and in particular to the center piece of the Gospel, the Passion Narrative. Zechariah 9:9–10 announces:

“Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion,
shout with gladness, daughter of Jerusalem!
See now your king comes to you;
he is victorious, he is triumphant,
Meek and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He will banish chariots from Ephraim
and horses from Jerusalem;
The bow of war will be banished.
he will proclaim peace for the nations.
His kingdom shall stretch from sea to sea,
from the River to the ends of the earth.”

It is as certain that the manner of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem is meant to be a direct reference to this prophetic passage in Zechariah, as it is certain that Jesus’ words on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”, are a direct reference to Psalm 22, which opens with these words. But look at the words of Zechariah 9:9–10: “meek,” banishing “chariots and horses.” Chariots and horses are the equivalent in Jesus’ time of today’s Stealth bombers and nuclear missiles: the maximal destructive technology of the hour. Again look at the words, this victorious king of Zechariah 9:9–10 will proclaim “peace” and his kingdom, which shall stretch “from the River (Jordan) to the ends of the earth,” will be completely without arms, the instruments of human destruction, “the bow of war.”

This unambiguous Nonviolent Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem is the beginning of the end of Jesus’ journey of Nonviolent Love of friends and enemies for the salvation of all people. Contrary to popular piety, it is not be merely a “via dolorosa,” a way of suffering. Identification with Jesus suffering is identification with Jesus loving. His via dolorosa is a Way of suffering chosen in order to confront and conquer evil in a sin drenched world, not suffering chosen for its own sake or for the sake of placating an unforgiving, “eye for eye,” revengeful, terrorist deity. Jesus via dolorosa is the choice of the Way of nonviolent suffering love of friends and enemies made in order to embody and make visible God’s Nonviolent Love for all – even for lethal enemies, e.g., the healing of the ear of the armed servant of the high priest who comes to Gethsemane to take Jesus to His death, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” The Nonviolent King, who enters Jerusalem on a donkey in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9–10, ultimately receives the stature prophesied for Him when crowned with thorns by those He loves to the end, He mounts His throne – the Cross of Nonviolent Love – and has, by order of Pilate, the ruling Roman official of this kingdom of the world at the time, a sign written in three languages, placed above His head on His throne: “King of the Jews.”

For the Nonviolent Jesus there is a direct route from His Sermon on the Mount, to His Nonviolent symbolic announcement of the Coming of the Reign of the Nonviolent God of Love on Palm Sunday, to His unequivocal incarnation of that God on Good Friday, to the incontestable validation of the reality, power and wisdom of that God on Easter Sunday. Take the Nonviolent Jesus of Nonviolent Love of friends and enemies out of Palm Sunday, out of Good Friday, out of Easter Sunday and there is no Palm Sunday, no Good Friday, no Easter Sunday. Nonviolent Love of friends and enemies is integral to the very meaning and purpose of those days.

Take the Nonviolent Love of friends and enemies of Jesus out of Holy Week and there is no Holy Week. There is no “Holy” in the week, because God, the Holy One, is love (agape). Without Jesus enfleshment of Divine Nonviolent Love toward all – friends and enemies, faithful followers and betrayers – there is just a week of unholy, diabolical brutality, violence, torture, cruelty, injustice, suffering and death. Why? Again, only God is Holy and God is agapeic love. Jesus, the Word (Logos) of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity is the incarnation of Nonviolent Love toward all because God is Nonviolent Love toward all. The Father and Jesus are one, consubstantial. The person who sees Jesus see the Father. Jesus comes to do the Father’s will and only the Father’s will. Starting on Palm Sunday, continuing through Good Friday and on to Easter Sunday, it is the Nonviolent Love of Jesus, God incarnate, that makes this week Holy – and I might add, makes it an efficacious moment in the long process of exposing and conquering evil.

If this were a week of remembering a Jesus entering Jerusalem in a warrior’s chariot – surrounded with manned war horses and a legion of soldiers carrying the most advanced killing technology of the time and ready to immediately kill other human beings on Jesus’ command – it would not be the beginning of a Holy Week. A Jesus telling Peter to “finish off” the armed servant of the high priest, after Peter slashes his ear off, would not make for a Holy Week. A week in which Jesus calls down from the cross curses and retribution on those who are killing Him would not be a Holy Week. A week that ends with a body corrupting in a tomb after a life of nonviolent love of friends and enemies would not be a Holy Week. It is the Nonviolent Love of friends and enemies enfleshed unto death in the now risen Jesus – the Word, the Way and the Truth of God who is love – that makes this week Holy.

The events and revelations of Holy Week unto the redemption and salvation of the world are events and revelations ineradicably united with the Nonviolent Jesus who taught and lived unto death and resurrection a Way of Nonviolent Love of friends and enemies! This is the Holy Wek and Jesus of history, of the Gospel and of faith and therefore must be the Holy Week and Jesus of Liturgy and the pulpit. If this is not the Holy Week and Jesus proclaimed in Liturgy and from the pulpit during Holy Week – as well as during all other weeks until time is no more – then an abuse or misuse, culpable or non-culpable, of Liturgy and of pulpit is taking place.