Your Joy Will Kill You

So I don’t get to the movies much anymore.  The last movie I saw was “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” with my youngest (good movie for kids and adults– highly recommended).  When she and I go to a movie, we always get a bag of popcorn to split.  We wouldn’t have it any other way.

But, the killjoys over at the Center for Science in the Public Interest have analyzed the popcorn and have determined it’s probably the worst thing you can eat.  I pretty much figured when you go to the spigot and spray that golden-hued buttery liquid on the popcorn, I’m going to feel it oozing through my pores sometime later in the day (Hey, I’m sweating artificial butter flavoring!)  But it’s a guilty pleasure for an uncommon event.  But the CSPI folks would rather you eat boiled lentils with a coating of flaxseed oil rather than let us enjoy our treat on our special day.  I’m not saying we should eat this stuff on a daily basis, but I am saying that regulating an occasional indulgence seems overly critical.

And I have to take issue with the name “Center for Science in the Public Interest”.  If you look at their website, you’re treated to a group that are obsessed with what you eat.  The entire side menu comprises of food-related topics (with the exception of Integrity in Science, which watchdogs for conflicts of interests).  Effectively, the CSPI is going to do what it can to make sure you don’t eat candy, drink soda, eat popcorn, use salt, drink booze, or benefit from the advances of genetically engineering your crops.  The dubious “Eating Green” tab sums up the CSPI’s political interests.  This isn’t science (which is a broad term with many specialized areas).  This is nutrition science, not general science.  The name itself is misleading.

As we grow closer to a nationalized health care system, please be aware that these types of lobbyists will have a say on what kind of food is sold, as the population must eat well to stay healthy.  So expect your Dolly Madison Snack Cakes to vanish from store aisles, as well as any carbonated beverage, as the government forces milk upon you.  And when you go to the movies, be sure to pick up the Big Salad to split with your kids while watching the film.

Recovery.Org

Nothing spells recovery like burning it all to the ground and trying to rebuild some Stalinist Utopia.

Here’s the O-shaped badge:

Now, a little Autopsy Paint-assisted Photoshopping:

Ahhhh…catharsis!

Don’t blame the Republicans

So, as I type this, the cloture vote for Porkulus (no, I’m Porkulus– no, I’m Porkulus!) is going on. Obama’s out, giving speeches, disrupting television viewing to explain why it’s important to spend this kind of money. And he’s attacking Republicans for blocking stimulus when we so desperately need to piss $1 trillion dollars to the wind.

But don’t blame Republicans for this revolt, President Obama. People aren’t agreeing with Republicans. People are inherently objecting to the fact they’re being asked to pony up 1 TRILLION dollars for this stimulus package. People are in shock! That’s why support is tanking.

Hey, if you could show me just how $1 Trillion would stimulate the economy, I might buy into it. But so far, there’s 0 transparency from the government. Just lots of receipt waving as Democrats roll around on the ground in pork.

Just to give you an idea, if we paid principle on our debt on the order of $1 trillion a year, we’d be looking at 13-15 years of it just to get back to zero.

What will Obama’s socialist package be called?

FDR’s was called the “New Deal“. LBJ’s was called the “Great Society“. What will Obama call his plan? The “Great Deal”? The “New Society”?

This could be just paranoid, conservative rantings, but some Obama top advisors are already talking about it.

“Every president is tempted to take on too much,” said one Obama adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. “On the other hand, there’s the Roosevelt example and the LBJ example, which suggest an extraordinary president can do an awful lot. So that’s the question: Is it too risky for the president to be ambitious?”

He didn’t mention Carter, Clinton, or Kennedy.  The two most socialist-leaning of our presidents were FDR and LBJ.  Considering FDR gave us social security, and LBJ gave us medicare and medicaid and the War on Poverty, we should be concerned.  And given Obama is the Lightworker to his faithful, we’ve got a lot to worry about if this is what his top advisors are saying.

I’m voting for McCain!

Yep. Changed my mind again. I must be one of those undecided voters.

What changed my mind, you say? A number of things. Obama still hasn’t gone public to defend Joe the Plumber from the immediate character assassination waged by a media determined to “vet” him. Of course, I’ve already called Obama on wanting health care to be a “right”. And, for the most part, I was dismissive of the Obama connection to Ayers and the Weather Underground. Until I read this post over at Confederate Yankee, where he dredged up an interview of FBI informant Larry Grathwohl, who had supplied information to the Feds in the Weather Underground case. From the interview:

I asked, “well what is going to happen to those people we can’t reeducate, that are diehard capitalists?” and the reply was that they’d have to be eliminated.

And when I pursued this further, they estimated they would have to eliminate 25 million people in these reeducation centers.

And when I say “eliminate,” I mean “kill.”

Twenty-five million people.

I want you to imagine sitting in a room with 25 people, most of which have graduate degrees, from Columbia and other well-known educational centers, and hear them figuring out the logistics for the elimination of 25 million people.

And they were dead serious.

Now, Obama has had close ties to William Ayers, leader of the Weather Underground. He even did a cover review for Ayer’s book while he was State Senator of Illinois. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but imagine a man with such polarizing political ideology having access to the POTUS. And look at the media and how they destroyed an ordinary citizen for criticizing Obama.

And now, we hear that Obama didn’t misspeak when he was talking to Joe the Plumber. In fact, he was speaking plainly from his heart about how he feels the US should be governed. This is from a radio interview with “moderate” Barack Obama, Illinois State Senator, from 2001:

Great Caesar’s Ghost! Make an ad of this IMMEDIATELY and play it EVERYWHERE. “The Founding Fathers made a mistake” with the Constitution? This guy’s not a Democrat, he’s a Revolutionary, and he’s 8 days away from being ELECTED as POTUS? With a Liberal Congress? WAKE UP, FOLKS!

Oh, man, we’re so going to get a rough, rough work over.

This is everywhere on the Right-o-Sphere this morning (and it should be, in big, flaming, letters, no doubt).  Hot Air has it.  MM has it.  Protein Wisdom has it.  Instapundit has it.  LGF has it.  I think that just about covers everyone.

Joe Biden: Joe the Plumber’s too Rich

Watch this video and listen to what Joe Biden says:

Which dovetails nicely with what Barack Obama was telling him: we’re going to redistribute your success. Joe the Plumber probably has employees, multiple trucks, and a is looking to buy a successful local business which brings in lots of business. Evidently, too much business, as he now gets and he will not get royally screwed by the Obama tax plan. (Bear in mind that he’s going to get hung out to dry by not “doing the right thing” and providing health care for his employees.)

Ed Morrisey had picked up on it as well.

Obama and Your Money

So a “rich” plumber in Ohio asked Obama about his tax plan. Here’s the exchange from Fox & Friends:

Absolutely incredible. Put that in with the WSJ article that examined Obama’s “95% tax cut” plan, we’re seeing just what Obama wants to do– move us towards a socialist state.

And, let’s not forget this exchange at the debate on whether health care is right or responsibility:

But, not to worry. ACORN is out registering rodents to make sure Obama is elected.

How to Win Elections

Promise large swaths of voting blocks that you’ll remove all taxes on them!

Obama’s already promising low income folks they no longer have to worry about paying taxes (hey, the gummint will do it for you!).  Now he’s also extending that simplification to seniors– no income tax for you!

It’s ridiculous pandering for votes.  The idea is that if 55% of the population pays no taxes in his plans, that means the other 45% will be out of luck when he’s elected.  And by out of luck, I mean, they’ll have to make up for the losses of such a brain-dead program.

Tax the rich until they ain’t rich no more!  Sounds like.. socialism.

The New Old Russia

You regular readers of this blog (all 3 of you and a few Viagra bots) will know I’ve been warning about Russia’s new aggressiveness for a while now. Just search for “energy bully”.

It’s not surprising that Putin’s Russia is interested in taking over Georgia. The country stands between Russian and Turkey and, no surprise here, Iran. Putin gets two things with a pacified Georgia: additional port space on the Black Sea and a new conduit to pipe up Iranian oil to Gazprom. Note that Iran and Russia have been getting cozy for a while. Russia wants Iranian oil, and clearing out any possible problems with Georgia and Armenia will allow for a direct pipeline up from Iran to Russia.

Some people are warning Ukraine that Russia may eye it. According to the CIA, Ukraine imports 3/4 of its energy needs. It doesn’t have much to offer Russia besides steel, so it’s more profitable for Putin to keep Ukraine dependent upon its natural gas resources.

Ukraine is the testing ground for Putin’s regional domination strategy. He tested it out with the natural gas shutoff in 2006. Countries are dependent upon petroleum resources, and if those resources are threatened or embargoed, those countries will suffer.

For this reason alone it’s imperative we switch to alternative energies. Solar power should be this country’s number one priority, not so we can reduce carbon footprint, but so we can sell this technology to the world to thwart the growing threat of an energy-monopolized Russia.

Armenia should be the next state threatened by this model. Then Russia will have a clear path to Iran. The question is how will Russia go about getting Iranian oil– force or coercion? The former would alarm the world, which is why it would be the last big block in the scheme. The latter would be the first method– until it’s deemed time for Iran to go. Then watch China panic.

There’s many dominoes here. I don’t like the direction they’re falling.

UPDATE: Condi Rice has set up new cease-fire agreement which has been signed by both sides.  It’s better than Sarko’s agreement, and we should see some movement of troops back to the border of Georgia.  I think we’ll see Georgia have to give up its claim to any of Ossetia, which may stabilize the region to a degree.

What’s Wrong With Catholic Socialism

With the arrival of the Pope in the US this weekend, I’ve turned a little pensive.

I am concerned with America’s Catholics, in particular, the 60+% who don’t think it’s important to attend Mass. Given our (or at least, my) particular beliefs in our dogma, skipping out on Mass is skipping out on communing with the Creator. Effectively, it’s like saying, “Hey, Jesus, thanks for all you’ve done, but hey, I was up last night drinking, so I can’t come to hang out.” Hey, we’ve all missed Church for various reasons, and I can understand that our educated, prideful culture doesn’t like getting “preached to”, but if you’re going to call yourself a Catholic, at least go to Church.

I know many, many Catholics of various stripes. I’ve know priests and nuns from various orders, and my Confirmation sponsor is currently the Bishop of Utah (I can’t wait until he’s Pope). And I have noticed a definitive leaning towards a socialist government that provides basic needs for everyone in society, be it welfare, education, or health care. Many of the priests and nuns are products of the 60s and 70s, so it’s not surprising their influence is usually heavy into more liberal interpretations of Vatican II and the faith in general. However, many of the Catholic clergy are educated and, for the most part, familiar with the tenets of the catechism of Catholicism. But what’s clear is that the laity have no idea what that dogma is. I remember having an argument with my high school religion teacher over New Testament scripture and having to correct her because she mixed up two scripture passages. I also lose patience with Catholics who somehow think it’s OK to disagree with the Church on abortion & stem cell research. At that point you really have to stop calling yourself Catholic, folks.

But the big gripe I have now is a row with well-meaning but short-sighted members of the faith who want to see more government involvement in our lives to better assist those in need. Catholics need to stop voting with Democrats because they feel the Democratic social agenda is better aligned with the teachings of the Church. In fact, nothing can be further from the truth. I’m not saying Republicans are Popes-in-disguise, either. Both need to totally reevaluate their platforms, and Catholics need to disassociate themselves with the notion that Government is somehow responsible for taking care of its citizens.

John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president, a Democrat, acted more like a Republican than a Democrat, and he had a great grasp on how the citizenry should respond to their government. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” is a call to service from the citizenry. It’s a call for smaller government and greater participation in Democracy by the individual. Since the 60′s, our government has gotten far larger, our politicians gain popularity with government handouts, and our citizenry demands more and more “freebies” from the government. In the meantime, many expect a large government role as a caretaker of its citizens. Catholics, especially those who want to participate in the faith, should flee from this idea.

St. James (James 2:14-17) talks of faith and works in his letter, and this particular letter should be recognized as a call against socialism:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Catholics who trust in government to deliver what’s needed to their neighbor are just like the man who does not give charity to those in need. A government is not a body of God, but a body of man, as it has no call to anything greater than itself, it is prone to corruption. However, the individual is responsible, especially the Catholic individual, to God and to Jesus. If the person puts his faith into institutions of man to deliver charity, then it is completely misguided. “Give unto God what is Gods, and give unto Caesar what is Caesar” was not talking about revamping the tax code, but instead a call to separate manly institutions from Godly institutions. The individual needs to be charitable, and alone give of their time, treasure and talent to those in need.

Our government allows for tax deductions to charitable organizations, which I find to be complete folly because it contradicts the nature of charity. Charity is selfless giving of oneself. If you give and then turn and expect reward from the government, it is not “charitable giving” and should not be deducted from any tax because nothing was truly given by the individual. In addition, many “charities” receive money from the government for their mission. Charities such as Planned Parenthood are antithetical to the dogma of Catholic faith, and trusting in a government to correctly deliver those funds to Catholic-approved charities is foolishness on the part of the taxpayer. Socialist constructs do not differentiate between non-profit organizations, except for some of those that have relgious connections! While many people feel good about the government providing assistance to those who are needy, the truth of the matter is the government is far more likely to deliver those monies to organizations that are secular or antithetical to the mission of the Catholic Church!

In addition, when the government takes your money (read: taxes), it is by force. By requesting the government to increase its spending amongst the population, there has to be rise in revenue of the government as well, and that is through taxes. Effectively, to make sure the need for “charity” is met by well-meaning Catholics, they are demanding all people, even those who may oppose such giving, to give to the government to accomplish the goals of their religious beliefs. Charity isn’t a vehicle of force, it’s a vehicle of will to assist others. Let there be no intermediary between the Catholic and those in need, for that is the nature of charity.

Social programs provided by the government at the cost of our tax dollars is not what Catholicism is about. JFK didn’t think so, St. James didn’t think so, and I don’t think Christ even thought so. What’s clear to me is that the Catholic faith is about the rallying of the individual to something greater. Voting for candidate who promise more social programs saps Catholicism of its strength in charity and delivers that muscle to the government, an amoral body run by the amoral.

Let the people dictate to the government. Let us as communities focus our efforts on Charity to those in need in our communities. How can a bureaucrat in D.C. possibly understand the needs of the people in your neighborhood? Stop waiting on the welfare check, and take help from your neighbors. Who better to help you and your family?