Politics

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

Christmas Is Coming!

Nativity display OK for Washington state Capitol

A Nativity display will be allowed in the state Capitol rotunda this Christmas season and other religious displays will also be allowed now that a lawsuit has been resolved, officials said.

With settlement of a federal lawsuit filed by Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal rights group in Arizona, any faith community can apply for permission to mount a display so long as it doesn’t promote one religion over another, said Steve Valandra, a spokesman for the state Department of General Administration.

Bah humbug?

Reviving the Right

Left Behind is the title of this piece over at The American Spectator:

Ever since James Dobson threw down the gauntlet against the Republican Party nominating a pro-choice presidential candidate, the focus has been on the intransigence of the religious right. Obdurate evangelical zealots are said to be tearing down GOP frontrunner Rudy Giuliani and paving the way for Hillary Clinton’s presidency.

The real story is how feeble and ineffectual conservative Christian opposition to Giuliani has actually been.

[…]

Dobson argues that their movement will be set back if the GOP nominates a candidate with Giuliani’s social views. Gary Bauer, by contrast, has said he cannot imagine “a bigger disaster” than Hillary Clinton in the White House.

They could both be right. But if social conservatives don’t get their act together, they will be complicit in their own marginalization.

It crossed my mind that a political defeat for the religious right may open their hearts (and mine) to revival.

If that were true and if I’m praying for revival in the USA . . . .

Three Strikes, Who’s Out?

Dollar, Peso, Amero!

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox confirmed the existence of a plan conceived with President Bush to create a new regional currency in the Americas, in an interview last night on CNN’s “Larry King Live.”

It possibly was the first time a leader of Mexico, Canada or the U.S. openly confirmed a plan for a regional currency. Fox explained the current regional trade agreement that encompasses the Western Hemisphere is intended to evolve into other previously hidden aspects of integration.

US Law, UN Law!

The Bush administration is before the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn the death penalty, at the behest of the International Court of Justice, a division of the United Nations.

Free Speech, Zoned Speech!

A street preacher whose annual fall campaign often includes a stop in Philadelphia, the self-described “Birthplace of Liberty,” has been arrested for speaking against abortion on public property outside the building housing the Liberty Bell.

[…]

While he was speaking, National Park Service rangers ordered him and others in his group to the other side of the building, where they said they had set up a “free speech zone,” which was far away from any pedestrian traffic entering or leaving the building.

Lies Are Legal in Politics

How about that!

Sharply split Washington Supreme Court says candidates can lie about political opponents

Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a law that bars political candidates from deliberately making false statements about their opponents violates the First Amendment right of free speech.

Basically, one person decided.

Somehow, 5-4 decisions — while stronger by proportion that 3-2 decisions — seem wrong.

Maybe group rulings need a Win by Two or More threshhold, eh?

Or maybe Margin of One decisions should automatically be put to a vote by 100 bloggers. 😀

Now I may be on to something. (Or at least on something.) 😐

Two Politicians and the Bible

From New York Times Blog:

In the final moments of the Democratic presidential debate here last night, after nearly two hours of wading through their differences on Iraq, health care, tax policy and a variety of other weighty matters, the candidates were asked a crisp question: What is your favorite Bible verse?

Two answers intrigue me . . . .

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton:

“The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I think that’s a good rule for politics, too.”

I wonder how many Clinton targets from over the years are looking a little bug-eyed at that one.

Representative Dennis Kucinich:

“Prayer from St. Francis, which says, ‘Lord make me an instrument of your peace.’ ”

That’s a Bible verse?!

HT: WorldMagBlog

Packs Pursuing Presidency

DJ Drummond has an interesting (and in its own way, funny) post over at WizBangBlog. Here’s his opening:

I still remember my first elected office. I was out sick from Junior High, and when I returned to school the next day I discovered that I had been elected to Student Council, without my knowledge and against my will. In those days and at Lake Highlands Junior High, Student Council meant having to come early to school and do extra work for no visible benefit or reward. Consequently, Council members were usually elected against their will. It had, if nothing else, a certain honesty to it – none of the members really wanted to be there, and so elections were pretty straightforward affairs. Not so the White House, a difficult and draining post for anyone who wins the office, and yet there is no shortage of incompetents who believe they are a perfect fit for the job. Worse, there are many people running in any given year, whose performance would be damaging to the country and so they should be quickly dissuaded from chasing the nomination.

I’ve been far too busy with more important things to post here regarding my own Presidential ambitions.

But DJ’s post reminds me.

😀

We’ll see.

Above all, love God!