Politics

So what would a conservative Mennonite care about mere earthly politics? And why?

I Don’t Want To Alarm You

I’m no banking expert. Or anything remotely related to one. Period.

I don’t know what to make of the current crisis in the finance system.

I don’t even know if I’m using the right lingo.

But here’s something I just read:

Dominoes: Large Euro, US Banks On The Brink

We are witnessing a failure in government. Our Congress cannot work together to provide an immediate fix to a problem it created in the first place: forcing the American financial sector to extend mortgages to those who were high risk borrowers in order to champion to the American people that more minorities own homes than ever. That worked well under a booming economy. But when the natural cycle of economics turned downward, fear dismissed became reality unavoidable. The house of cards came tumbling down.

And even still, amid all the haggling and fighting going on in Congress over how to shore up the financial cash crisis, not a word is mentioned about changing the counter-intuitive practices forced upon mortgage lenders in the first place. In this respect, it’s not unlike how Congress and the White House chose to address illegal immigration: by trying to deal with those already here first rather than initially addressing the cause: the influx of illegals that continues to flow unabated.

Make no mistake, if we wake to Black Monday this week, the responsibility lies squarely upon Congress and the electorate which has put them there, not our banks. Our banks’ hands were forced by mandates from Washington, not their boardrooms.

And here we are. With a Congress so polarized that they are incapable of working together.

[…]

America does not seem nearly as polarized as its elected representation. But perhaps in less than one full week, it really won’t matter but for hindsight and lessons going forward. Hard, painful, demanding lessons.

I don’t have time to say more, though there’s plenty I could say.

For now, I remind you about Roger Hertzler’s article I posted here.

Why You’d Like Me…

…for President of the United States of America.

Now that the main stream parties have settled on Obama and McCain, I should tell you a few more reasons why you should want me for President. 😀

I’m not a politician neither do I belong to any political party. I am a true independent who is not in anybody’s pocket. I have no “handlers” and will hire none nor will accept the services of any. I am not driven by polls or focus groups.

I believe leaders should lead by example and live by the law.

I believe leaders should be available to the people. To that end, I think a President should aim to…

  • Take time for the children, reading or telling a story to be Webcast on the White House web site once or twice a week.
  • Communicate weekly via radio, TV, chat, and/or blogs.
  • Do a live town hall meeting once a month, each time in a different state in Union.

I have no skeletons in my closet.

I don’t believe in trying to boost myself by trying to take someone else down.

I do my best to promote only that which is good.

I think a President should not tolerate anything less than a morally safe work environment in the White House.

I am unbendingly veto-disposed against earmarks, pork, and riders. If I were President, I would veto a bill before compromising my principles to sign it.

Known lobbyists have no business entering the White House unless they are clearly representing the people’s interests.

Individuals, organizations, and nations must live well within their means.

If the Constitution stipulates it, that’s it.

Oh, and I have no use for speech writers and teleprompters. I compose my own talks and speak from printed (and once in a while, hand-written) notes. And, yes, I think I have been gifted as a public speaker (I just need to work at developing better tonal quality).

So there you are. If you’re a Democrat who can’t vote for Obama or a Republican who can’t vote for McCain or an Independent who’s stuck up a tree without a paddle, you could opt to write in my name on your ballot. 😆

At Work: For the People

Here’s “proof” that some CongressFolks are still doing stuff:

Brand new push in Congress to prevent Shariah invasion

Congressman Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., introduced a bill to the House of Representatives that seeks to prevent Islam’s radical Shariah law from gaining a foothold in the U.S. legal system, as it has in other countries.

Tancredo introduced HR 6975, the Jihad Prevention Act, last week. If made into law, the bill would allow American authorities to prevent advocates of Shariah law from entering the country, revoke the visa of any foreigners that did champion Shariah law and revoke naturalization for citizens that seek to implement Shariah law in the U.S.

The radical form of Islam’s Shariah religious law includes several statutes often objectionable to Western minds, including stoning for adulterous women, amputation for thieves and the death sentence for converting from Islam.

That one has no chance of becoming law.

And the chances for this one are somewhat better, though not by much:

Another Bright Idea

An act sponsored by 25 representatives asking the government to reconsider its ban on incandescent light bulbs has been stalled in committee – and the leading sponsor is faulting Democratic leadership.

The Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act highlights growing concerns over the safety and environmental impact of compact fluorescent bulbs, or CFLs. Before the sale of incandescent bulbs is banned, the representatives are asking the comptroller general to prove replacement with CFLs will be cost-effective, reduce overall carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent in the United States by 2025 and that the bulbs will not pose a health risk to the general public.

[…]

As WND reported, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was signed into law in December, phasing out the use of traditional, incandescent light bulbs in favor of CFLs beginning in 2012 and culminating in a ban on incandescent bulbs in 2014.

Concerns about mercury in the bulbs and mercury vapor released when a CFL is broken led Bachmann and a group of legislators in the House to second-guess the government’s choice.

Guard Duty: Is It Your Turn?

You can help protect someone else’s property…as well as their right to free speech. 🙄

 

Anyone thinking of swiping an Obama/Biden ’08 sign from a front lawn in Portland might want to consider this: The world may be watching.

A Portland woman known as “Poverty Kids’ Teacher” has created an Internet sensation with a webcam that’s streaming video around the clock of the political signs in her yard.

No, it’s not another artsy viral campaign in support of the Democratic ticket. It’s one woman’s response to thieves taking her political signs when she wasn’t looking this month.

Wait a minute! That’s an $8 sign?! 😯

If a campaign wants me to display their sign, why should I pay for it?

That’s dumb.

Source: The O

Catch Mahmood!

Somehow, that seems like a good title for this:

As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to speak in the opening of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week, a major international evangelical Christian group based in Jerusalem plans to send a petition to the U.N. Secretary-General calling for the arrest and indictment of Iran’s president on charges of incitement to genocide against Israel. The petition from the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (I.C.E.J.) has gathered signatures from tens of thousands of Christians around the world, as the group joins the chorus of prominent voices from many countries demanding that Iran’s president be brought to justice.

“We feel a profound and telling moral duty to speak out against the growing Iranian nuclear threat to Israel,” said David Parsons, media director for the I.C.E.J.

“The silence of most Christian clergy in the face of Germany’s horrific bid to annihilate European Jewry left a deep stain on the churches,” said the I.C.E.J.’s executive director, Rev. Malcom Hedding. “Yet from it has arisen a sense among multitudes of Christians today that we have an inescapable moral duty to earnestly speak out whenever another genocidal campaign threatens the Jewish people.

Have you signed the petition? I haven’t.

To my credit, though, I say (as a Mennonite), “Leave me out of it!” to this next piece as well:

The I.C.E.J.’s Hedding also slammed the leaders of certain Christian groups, among them the Mennonites and the Quakers, who plan to further honor Ahmadinejad by hosting him at a special reception during his visit to the U.S., in which the Christian leaders hope to engage in a “dialogue” with the threatening leader.

To read the entire article: Christian Group: Indict Ahmadinejad for Threatening a Holocaust

UK’s first official sharia courts

Of camels and noses?

UK’s first official sharia courts

Islamic law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases.

The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence.

Rulings issued by a network of five sharia courts are enforceable with the full power of the judicial system, through the county courts or High Court.

Previously, the rulings of sharia courts in Britain could not be enforced, and depended on voluntary compliance among Muslims.

It has now emerged that sharia courts with these powers have been set up in London, Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester with the network’s headquarters in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Two more courts are being planned for Glasgow and Edinburgh.

HT: Dunker Journal

Above all, love God!
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