The other day, as I was walking from my car to my office, I noticed this license plate frame on one of the other cars in the structure.  The car in question is a Mercedes 350 ML350 SUV.  Later I checked Mercedes web site and found this car retails for about $47,000.  Now a six-year loan for that amount at 3.8% interest will run you about $730 a month and will result in the payment of %5,700 total interest.

Humility, 1 Peter 5:5-6

The Apostle Peter writes in his first epistle, "…Be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time."

Humility is one of the primary attributes that should be evident in the life of the Christian.  God hears the prayer of the humble (Psalm 10:17), he gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34).  Jesus said whoever humbles themselves will be exalted (Matthew 23:12).

The person who is truly humble remembers the Lord in all they do, and humility leads to prayer and fellowship with God.  The proud think they know it all and can run their lives, but the humble seeks God and His direction for their lives daily.

Jesus often spoke of humility, and more important, he lived it.  After the Last Supper was eaten, he washed the feet of his Apostles, including Judas Iscariot, knowing he would betray Jesus. Normally, this was the job of the lowest servant in a household.  But the most high creator of the universe did not think it beneath him to perform this task. Afterwards, he commanded the twelve, "I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you."

Those in positions of leadership, religious and secular are especially challenged to remain humble.  Ross Perot said, "As you become successful, you will need a great deal of self-discipline not to lose your sense of balance, humility, and commitment."  When people are telling you how wonderful you are it’s easy to let your ego take over.  But remember, you are not the center of the universe. 

God warned the Israelites, that when they forget what He had done for them,"…you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 8:17-18)

So if you must boast, boast in the Lord.  Humble yourself in his sight, and he will lift you up on the last day.

An article on how the Republicans are trying to re-capture the youth vote appeared on Yahoo! today.  The one of the centerpieces of this effort is the Maverick PAC founded by George P Bush.  That's Bush as in George H.W. "Read my lip" Bush.  That's Bush as in George W. Bush, who gave us eight years of wars and deficits.

In other words, Republicans will put on a PR campaign that is long on style, and short on substance.  But even John Boehner admits that it's hard to get enthusiastic about Mitt Romney.

I’ll tell you this: 95 percent of the people that show up to vote in November are going to show up in that voting booth, and they are going to vote for or against Barack Obama.  
“Mitt Romney has some friends, relatives and fellow Mormons ... some people that are going to vote for him. But that’s not what this election is about. This election is going to be a referendum on the president’s failed economic policies.

That's hardly a ringing endorsement.  But if Republicans want to get young people on board, the answer is in their own back yard.

Ron Paul has been filling stadiums and arenas on college campuses for the last six months.  He speaks of real change.  He speaks of freedom.  Republicans want you to forget when happened when they ran the show.  Now they tell us that if we elect more Republicans, the nations problems will be solved.

Well, I'm not buying it.  If Republicans want to attract more young people to the party, a good start would be to kick Mitt Romney to the curb and make Ron Paul the party's nominee for President.

-Keep grinning

Question: How does government create jobs?

Answer: It doesn't. All government does it takes money from the productive and gives it to the non-productive, or industries (such as so-called green energy) it deems worthy.

This article from the Orange County Register shows what can happen in a low-tax, low regulation environment.

The owner of the company hit the nail on the head here."All the non-entrepreneurial folks say that I’m being greedy by not paying the taxes I should be paying in California but let me tell you what I’ve done. I’ve turned (the money I saved) back into my company with $100,000 in new equipment purchases and started two other ventures to employ additional people currently looking for work. That’s how greedy I am."

So now there are more employees paying taxes, buying stuff, giving to charities and growing the economy. And just think, it all happened without the governments help.

God is not a Christian?

I came across an excerpt from Desmond Tutu’s new book 'God Is Not a Christian: And Other Provocations.'

In the article posted on the Huffington Post, Archbishop Tutu makes the point that all world religions contain truth, and that we as Christians should not claim that “we alone possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God.”

I cannot deny that the non-Christian religions have truthful beliefs in as much as they agree with Christian teaching and practice. Also, since God created each of us in his image, he dwells in each living person. However this universalism the Archbishop preaches forgets that God the Father makes a strong claim to his people.

In Deuteronomy 6:13 God commands the Hebrew people, “"You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who all around you.” The God is Abraham, Isaac and Joseph is the one true God

In the 32^nd chapter of Exodus, after the Hebrews make a golden calf to worship, God is ready to consume them with his wrath. Only after Moses pleads with the Lord, does he relent.

Finally in Exodus 20, God tells the children of Israel, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,"

In addition, Archbishop Tutu ignores the unique role of Jesus Christ in humanities redemption. He states, “…the eternal word, the Logos of God, enlightens everyone”. However that was not Jesus primary mission. Among other things, Jesus came to show us the way to God the Father and states he is the only way, (John 14:6, Luke 13:24). In addition Jesus does not provide any other remedy for salvation than trusting in his saving work on the cross (Hebrews 10:10).

It is only on those who receive Jesus that God grants adoption into the kingdom of God (John 1:12). Those religions who only recognize Jesus as a prophet, or as one possessing the Christ consciousness leave out key pieces of the puzzle. Jesus came to show us the way to God the Father by his live and ministry. He also came to redeem the world by paying the price for our sins on the cross. There are many prophets, true and false, but only one Savior.

While the Spirit of God may have“…existed long before there were Christians, inspiring and nurturing women and men in the ways of holiness, bringing them to fruition, bringing to fruition what was best in all.”, as Archbishop Tutu claims, the Holy Spirit was given particularly to the Christian church to lead us into all truth (John 16:13).

Finally, the archbishop cites the “conscientiously held beliefs” of non-Christian believers. However, because a belief or opinion is held sincerely, does not make it true.

• Many people believed Harold Camping that the rapture would take place on May 14. That day has come and gone and the Church is still on earth.
• A number of people are still convinced that President Obama is not an citizen of the United States even though he was released his long form birth certificate.

There are people committed to these beliefs, even though they have been proven false. No matter how much people wish these beliefs to be fact, it does not make it so.

So then what is the Christian response? We are to love the non-believer, and pray for them. If we happen to visit one of their holy places, be respectful.

Most important, we need to follow Peters admonition to “be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15)

CATO Analysts: U.S. Out of Libya, Out of NATO...

I believe it's time to wind down our military commitments in Europe, Asia and other places around the world. The best foreign policy I believe is the one advanced by Thomas Jefferson.

"Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none."

Europe has long recovered from World War II and the Soviet Union is no longer a threat. South Korea has grown much more powerful than its northern neighbor, and there is no need for a US military presence.

What would the money saved be used for. Dr. Ron Paul suggests that it be used to maintain our commitments to current Social Security recipients as the government works to transition younger Americans to retirement savings not controlled by politicians.

Additionally, I think the money saved and soldiers bought home from overseas could be used to provide additional security along our borders with Canada and Mexico.

Presidential Fail

This picture from one of the tea parties was in the LA Times (Of all places).

The article was a very fair view of the tea parties is you ask me. And it was certainly better than annoying CNN reporterette.

Keep grinning.

The Unstimulating Stimulus Bill

This is part of an interview with Michael Munger, professor of economics at Duke University. He was one of a number of economists who refuted President Obama's statement that there was a consensus of economists who agreed that the so-called stimulus would work.

Imagine you had a six-year-old daughter, and that she has a high fever. It’s 1820, and we don’t understand germs or fevers very well. You call the doctor, and the doctor comes to the house. “Please, do something. DO SOMETHING, and help my daughter,” you say.

The doctor takes out a lancet, and makes a small incision in your daughter’s wrist. The theory was that the fever was in the blood itself, and “bleeding” was the only treatment that people in 1820 knew.

It doesn’t work. Your daughter’s fever is still very high. So, you tell the doctor, “DO SOMETHING! You are the doctor.”

The doctor bleeds her some more. And she dies.

And the next day you blame the doctor for not bleeding her MORE and SOONER. But bleeding was the wrong thing to do.

This stimulus is the wrong thing to do. The fact that the first round didn’t work leads me to think we need to stop! But all the desperate economic parents out there say, DO IT MORE! DO IT LONGER! DO IT FAST!

I don’t blame the President. I blame voters, who have the naïve idea that government is responsible for the economy.

The link is in the title, be sure to read the whole article.

Keep Grinning

To California Republicans...

I told you so.

Back in 2003, Republicans were falling all over themselves to support and vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger in the recall election.

True, he was saying all the right (or maybe Populist) things. He would blow up boxes, he would cut up the Legislatures credit cards. He was a fan of Milton Friedman. He was a moderate on social issues (Gay Marriage should be between a man and a woman).

Fast forward five years. He was quoted in the LA Times last week saying

"I think the important thing for the Republican Party is now to also look at other issues that are very important for this country and not to get stuck in ideology," the governor said in an interview broadcast on CNN. "Let's go and talk about healthcare reform. Let's go and . . . fund programs if they're necessary programs and not get stuck just on the fiscal responsibility."

Five years later the state budget is $28 billion in the red. Spending under Schwarzenegger went up faster that it did when Grey Davis was governor. And our "Republican" governor, walks and talks like a Democrat.

I had a gut feeling that something like this would happen. Part of it was because he a was a big supporter of Proposition 49 in 2002 (which set aside money for after-school programs). This showed me he had a tendency to see government as a means to solving problems.

My choice was Tom McClintock, (who spoke briefly at the Rally for the Republic) a strong fiscal conservative. He is a frequent guest on local talk radio, and at the time, I was impressed by his ability to explain the complexities of the State budget, and the mess it was and is, in layman's terms.

I hope that in the future, Republicans will shy away from the personality cult that surrounds many polititians, and look more closely at the views they hold.

You can read the whole story here.

Scrooge McDuck on Monetary Policy

I came across this today over at reason.com. It amazed me that a cartoon show had more wisdom than the bozos in the Congress and the White House.



Keep Grinning.