New Covenant

If Bush had said it...

From HotAir, apparently President Obama thinks the price of oil is hovering around $1.25 a barrel. Per his speech to Sempra Energy,

We have subsidized oil companies for a century. We want to encourage production of oil and gas, and make sure that wherever we've got American resources, we are tapping into them. But they don’t need an additional incentive when gas is $3.75 a gallon, when oil is $1.20 a barrel, $1.25 a barrel. They don’t need additional incentives. They are doing fine.

Yet this snip from oil-price.net shows the price to be hovering about 100 times that amount.

Honest mistake or intentional gaffe that leaves the impression that oil companies are gouging and, consequently, do not need government subsidies?

Links for Monday, 20 February 2012

HHS Mandate Edition II

Joe Carter's FAQ page for the HHS Mandate
Some excerpts,

What is this contraception mandate everyone keeps talking about?

As part of the universal health insurance reform passed in 2010 (often referred to as "Obamacare"), all group health plans must now provide---at no cost to the recipient---certain "preventive services." The list of services includes sterilization, contraceptives, and abortifacient drugs.

...

Doesn't the mandate only apply to religious organizations that receive federal funding?

No. The mandate applies to religious employers even if they receive no federal funding.

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Isn't this just a Catholic issue?

No. Although the Catholic Church has been the most vocal opponent of the mandate, many Protestant, Jewish, and Muslims also oppose the mandate. In fact, several evangelical leaders have called on evangelicals to stand with Catholics in civil disobedience to this law. Additionally, 300 academics and religious leaders---including TGC's D.A. Carson and Justin Taylor---signed a statement by the Beckett Fund explaining why the mandate is "unacceptable."

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Lies, damned lies and 98 percent of Catholic women

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6 more things everyone should know about the HHS Mandate
From the post,

1. The rule that created the uproar has not changed at all, but was finalized as is.

2. The rule leaves open the possibility that even exempt “religious employers” will be forced to cover sterilization.

3. The new “accommodation” is not a current rule, but a promise that comes due beyond the point of public accountability.

4. Even if the promises of “accommodation” are fulfilled entirely, religious charities, schools, and hospitals will still be forced to violate their beliefs.

5. The “accommodation” does not even purport to help objecting insurers, for-profit religious employers, secular employers, or individuals.

6. Beware of claims, especially by partisans, that the bishops are partisan.

 

Links for Monday, 13 February 2012

The HHS Mandate Edition

Six Things Everyone Should Know About the HHS Mandate
Read the entire post,

1.The mandate does not exempt Catholic charities, schools, universities, or hospitals.

2.The mandate forces these institutions and others, against their conscience, to pay for things they consider immoral.

3.The mandate forces coverage of sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs and devices as well as contraception.

4.Catholics of all political persuasions are unified in their opposition to the mandate

5.Many other religious and secular people and groups have spoken out strongly against the mandate.

6.The federal mandate is much stricter than existing state mandates.

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Message from Chuck Colson
If the administration does not back down, religious liberty—as clearly articulated in the Constitution and in court cases—will be gravely impaired. And your organization, like mine, will face the question of civil disobedience.

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Manhattan Declaration - Sign it

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Tightening the Screws
From the article,

Perhaps the Government's own attempt to kick this can down the road until after the elections will be cited as evidence. In its announcement of January 20, 2012, HHS stated that “birth control... is the most commonly taken drug in America by young and middle-aged women.” If contraception is already the most commonly taken drug in America, then it seems hardly necessary to shove a requirement to provide it down the throat of the Catholic Church and other religious organizations.

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National Petition to Stop HHS Mandate - Sign it

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Obama Tries to Spin His Way Out
From Mere Comments,

Abstinence for 15-year-olds is considered impossible–how in the world can they possibly control themselves? But obesity is something we can fix by teaching them to control their appetites for certain foods and eating veggies. What a country.

 

Links for Saturday, 13 August 2011

Public Photography is "suspicious" and "antisocial behavior"
At least, it seems to be in the UK where a photographer was arrested for the crime of taking photos, on a public street, of a Christmas celebration. Video here.

I suppose if the photographer wanted to be left alone by the UK police he should have taken to looting, ransacking, and destroying downtown shopping establishments.

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But, we're okay taking photographs here in the US, right?
Not in Long Beach, California, where the police department seems to think they have the right to detain photographers they deem to be taking photographs "with no apparent esthetic value."

I suppose the new LBPD motto is to "protect and serve... and provide art criticism."

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And, so, it's come to this

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"Can anyone recall a memorable phrase from one of Mr. Obama's big speeches that didn't amount to cliché?"

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Oh, back to even more subversiveness...

Links for Thursday, 16 December 2010

See 'ya later, gotta see what the wife's up to America's First Black President seeks the help of America's First Black President

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Yes, 3 + 1 = 2 + 2 Carville thinks America's First Black President should seek more than help from America's First Black President's wife.

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What did you expect, with all the apologizing?

“Israelis really hate Obama’s guts,” said Shmuel Rosner, a columnist for two leading Israeli newspapers. “We used to trust Americans to act like Americans, and this guy is like a European leader.”

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Tactical Awareness Not always a matter of physicality.

In 2008, there were almost 10 million cases of identity theft in the US alone, 22% more than the previous year. While people are getting better at recognizing identity theft, and minimizing the damage, the best solution is to prevent it from happening in the first place by following these steps.

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Christmas Shopping Kudos From an e-mail sent by Sheplers (Western wear), not shying away from mentioning the unmentionable holiday this season.

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Holiday MP3 Store? From Amazon.com, a partial screenshot of their "Holiday MP3 Store". In perusing the ~46 MP3 albums listed, it appears that the unmentionable word "Christmas" is mentioned 36 times. Of the remaining titles, a Christmas related word (e.g., Noel, Santa, etc.) is listed 6 times. Hmmm, 42 out of 46. Now, what "holiday" is that, again?

Mexico blames U.S. for Mexicans committing crimes in Mexico

To clarify,

A coalition of Mexican mayors has asked the United States to stop deporting illegal immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes in the U.S. to Mexican border cities, saying the deportations are contributing to Mexican border violence.

Meanwhile, President "Mexicans were here before America was an idea" Obama is trying to pitch the notion that there is no "us" and "them", with regards to illegal immigration [sic].

Sorry, Mr. President, but we're not buying this whole one-world idea and, just as a reminder, you swore an oath to uphold and defend the constitution of the United States of America.

On being an elite, gifted, Socialist student

In the U.K., it seems that gifted students are being ignored by their teachers, lest they fall into the trap of promoting elitism. Per The Daily Mail,

Many teachers are not convinced of the importance of providing more challenging tasks for their gifted and talented pupils.

Bright youngsters told inspectors they were forced to ask for harder work. Others were resentful at being dragooned into 'mentoring' weaker pupils.

...

Teachers feared that a focus on the brightest pupils would 'undermine the school's efforts to improve the attainment and progress of all other groups of pupils'.

I find it interesting that the students interviewed expressed frustration at not only the fact that they aren't getting more challenging tasks, but at also being forced to mentor their weaker (read: less adept) counterparts. Indeed, one has to wonder, if students are being asked to mentor other students, exactly what are the functions and responsibilities of teachers in U.K. schools?

Yet, I can't help but conclude that such nonsense is but an outgrowth of a socialist mentality. Socialism, per Wikipedia, may include,

...the view that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth among a small segment of society that controls capital and derives its wealth through exploitation, creates an unequal society, does not provide equal opportunities for everyone to maximise their potentialities and does not utilise technology and resources to their maximum potential nor in the interests of the public.

I've noticed some common threads, among those with whom I've debated the actions of our current administration: For one, they think that we (whether referring to the U.S. or the world) need to work together for the common good. Also, evil capitalistic greed is what has driven us to the unequal state we now find ourselves in, as a society. And, we should expect the government to be the means with which to provide and regulate the so called common good.

Do you remember this statement?

It's not that I want to punish your success; I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success, too. I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody.

- candidate Barack Obama

When not reading from his carefully prepared text, Obama tends to reveal himself a bit more clearly. Notice that he thinks we need to make sure that other people behind a successful person (aka less gifted students vs. gifted students) get their chance for success. He also thinks that when the wealth is spread around (aka gifted students forced to mentor less gifted students) it is good for everybody.

As I see it, the problem with socialistic dreaming is that it promotes the notion that human depravity can be ultimately conquered by humans themselves.

The entire course of human history has shown us otherwise.

Ever have one of those days?

Our Western custom of shaking hands is, indeed, a quirky one. When executed properly the act is, at best, a firm establishment of proper manners and, at worst, an excellent method of germ exchange. And then there are the various faux paus to deal with (ever been on the receiving end of a limp shaker? - ugh!). Worse yet, have you ever held your hand out only to suffer the degrading experience of being rejected?

Luckily, that only happens to rank amateurs...

Inexperienced weakness in a land of enchantment: how our enemies view a feminized president

The question bubbled over with effervescent infatuation; innocent, yet unadulterated adoration for the one who now guides us.

Thank you, Mr. President. During these first 100 days, what has surprised you the most about this office? Enchanted you the most from serving in this office? Humbled you the most? And troubled you the most? (emphasis most certainly added)

Can anyone picture FDR being asked what enchanted him the most? Truman? LBJ? Teddy Roosevelt?

Have we gone from expecting a Rough Rider as President to expecting our leader to be enchanted? Has the Steyn feminization of the West now contaminated the office of President of the United States?

Barack Obama, the junior junior Senator from Illinois, bows low to foreign leaders, gleefully embraces foreign dictators, and posits diplomacy with tyrants. Those who would do this country harm cannot see in these actions anything but weakness.

Christians: pray for Barack Obama

It's all a matter of timing

From President Obama,

Today, ...the United States will pursue a new strategy to end the war in Iraq through a transition to full Iraqi responsibility. This strategy is grounded in a clear and achievable goal shared by the Iraqi people and the American people: an Iraq that is sovereign, stable, and self-reliant. To achieve that goal, we will work to promote an Iraqi government that is just, representative, and accountable, and that provides neither support nor safe-haven to terrorists. We will help Iraq build new ties of trade and commerce with the world. And we will forge a partnership with the people and government of Iraq that contributes to the peace and security of the region.

The only thing new about this strategy is that Obama has shifted (i.e., changed his mind) regarding his approach towards our presence in Iraq. Remember, this is the same person who opposed the Surge, who once gave up hope on succeeding in Iraq, and who once stated that the lives of troops killed in action were "wasted". (HT: HotAir)

Life is, by no means, fair. Many times, our fortune, or failure, is simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time - of having that lucky break. What we'll see, in the next few years, is Obama receiving the accolades for any progress to be displayed in Iraq. Bush, in our media's shortsightedness, will take more than his share of the blame for what it cost to succeed - the failures, mistakes, and blood. Yet, he is the one who was fated to do the dirty work.

And, I think that history will eventually provide us with the clear picture of who accomplished what.

Obama's continued betrayal of those most disadvantaged

Five days in, and President Obama has made at least two significant moves: One, he signed an executive order which will effectively close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, thereby releasing terror suspects; two, he issued a memorandum which lifts a ban on U.S. funding for international groups that perform abortions.

Score: 

Terror suspects - 1, Unborn children - 0

Change? Certainly. Hope? Hardly.

Christians, pray for Obama.

One promise that President Obama isn't backing away from

From CNN, Obama may quickly reverse abortion policy,

President-elect Barack Obama is considering issuing an executive order to reverse a controversial Bush administration abortion policy in his first week in office, three Democratic sources said Monday.

Obama's second full day as president falls on the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion in the United States.

The sources said Obama may use the occasion to reverse the "Mexico City policy" reinstated in 2001 by Bush that prohibits U.S. money from funding international family planning groups that promote abortion or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion services. It bans any organization receiving family planning funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development from offering abortions or abortion counseling.

Will you begin your term, President-elect Obama, with an act that may begin to help confirm Robert George's pronouncement of you being our most pro-abortion president ever?

Amidst the incessant proclamations of history being made, what with Obama's inauguration, I can't help but wonder what Dr. King would think of how Obama has already betrayed, and will continue to betray, the most innocent in our land.

Christians: Pray for Barack Obama

Quote of the... uh... century?

From CNN, Poll finds great expectations for Obama,

"My fervent prayer is that there will be peace on Earth in all nations, and let all countries unite together to make this dream come true," said iReporter Shari Atukorala of Kandy, Sri Lanka. "To the President-elect Barack Obama: Sir, you can do this for all of us."

Utterly amazing.

Is this perception of Obama common? Maybe so. Also from the CNN article,

The public thinks it's likely that Obama will improve race relations, improve economic conditions, bring stability to the financial markets, make the U.S. safer from terrorism, reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil, reduce global warming, win the war in Afghanistan and remove U.S. troops from Iraq without causing a major upheaval in that country.

How much of this adoration, do you think, has gone (and will go) to Obama's head? At what point does admiration for one's leader turn into adoration, albeit worship, of one's leader? 

On the one hand, reality may rear its ugly head and simply educate the many ignorant, but sincere, idealists who have put their faith in Obama; on the other hand, the cult of worship, is an enticing temptation, which strokes at the very essence of the narcissist's ego.

Christians: pray for Obama