Sunday, February 24, 2008

The Lord and JWs

I have been having an on-going conversation with some local Jehovah's Witnesses. They have come by my house, asked to drop off some literature, and if they could discuss the Bible with me. I,being the confident Christian that I am, of course take on the challenge. I talk with them for about a half hour or so almost every Saturday. I try very hard not to argue, as I don't want to turn them off, though I do want to turn them to Christ. They seem just as intent to turn me to Jehovah.

Last week, the guy came by while I was out, and of course my wife was busy with the kids and
could not take the time to carry the torch to them for me.
So this week, the guy came while I was on the phone talking. I answered the door, but he was polite, and seeing the phone cradled on my shoulder, excused himself before I could stop talking and ask him to wait. Never mind that I was talking with a lawn care service salesman, and it was not that important. So I thought I got off easy this week without talking with them. Annnh- Wrong answer! I got a call a few minutes later from another JW, one who did not seem to know me, or know of me. He just started talking, and I stopped him after he said he wanted to talk about the Bible, to ask what church he attended. He said the kingdom Hall, and so I said "Oh, you're another JW". He agreed, and off we went into talking about the Bible. He wanted to present something that they probably told him about at one of the many Bible study/meetings they have weekly. We politely talked for almost an hour, and then we both had to go, but I agreed to accept the free literature he offered to mail me.

It seemed that even though my timing was off, the Lord (Jehovah if you will) wanted me to talk with them this week. I truly enjoy sparring with them, almost as if we had Samurai swords. We thrust, dodge, avoid, and eventually, someone will prevail. I know that the Lord always wins, so I am glad to be on his side. I am honored to be used in this way, as I sometimes feel as though I am a "cracked pot", a weak vessel, but the Lord chooses to use me in this way, and it thrills me to no end! I always pray when I am about to go talk with them, and I look forward to it. This is one of the things that He has prepared me for over the years, because one must be very broadly knowledgeable to discuss things with JWs. They are all over the place in and out of the Bible, and if you can't discuss things with them they think they get the upper hand, or they may intimidate you into impatience or into not evangelizing them. Many people think the best way to deal with them is to pull the blinds, pretend you don't hear them but I take the position that they are a mission field on my front porch. I hope to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Walter Martin and J. Vernon McGee, as they reached out to JW's when they had the chance. What can the Lord do through you? What has he prepared you for? Whatever it is, it will glorify Him, and bring you true satisfaction. It may even feel natural!

Why I Will Never Vote for Hillary Clinton

This is a first cut at explaining logically why I will never vote for Hillary Clinton for President. Here goes!
  1. Mrs. Clinton thinks she knows better what to do with my money, and would raise my taxes to get it and prove it. I am one of those middle class tax payers who she mistakes as "rich", because the end of the Bush tax cuts would hit me and my family hard.
  2. I don't think universal health care is a good government policy. I think the best way to reduce health care costs is to have tort reform, but she will never advocate or support such a position, because she is a lawyer herself. Trial lawyers support Democrats like her; look at John Edwards!
  3. Bill Clinton would be in the White House again.
  4. Interns would be in the White House with Bill Clinton again.
  5. Mrs. Clinton would reduce our commitment to winning the global war on terrorism, even if not all the troops were taken out of Iraq.
  6. Mrs. Clinton is pro-choice. She is guaranteed to appoint liberal judicial nominees to the Supreme court.
  7. Mrs. Clinton is in favor of big government, and would try to use government to implement some (as many as we could finance) of her programs to improve America.
  8. Mrs. Clinton has socialistic tendencies, believing government has the best ways to solve people's problems. Conservatives believe people can best solve their own and each other's problems if left alone by government.
  9. Mrs. Clinton has never run any business, and has no sense of what it takes to run a country. As first lady, she was around the president, and certainly learned some things, but there is no comparison with seeing another person run a business or a country and being responsible to do so your self.
  10. Mrs. Clinton never defines "The Middle Class", but I bet that at $80k to 100k, I am not in it. She says she will help the middle class, and that we are key to the country's future, but I doubt her sincerity about that, based on her husband's past record.
  11. Finally, I do not believe that Bill Clinton will be under Hillary's control now any more than he was when he dated Monica Lewinsky. She says she can control him, but I have not seen that in the past. She only cleans up after him, and old dogs don't change. It seems ridiculous on its face to think that Bill Clinton will not have an active role in making policy and important decisions during her presidency. Former President Clinton would be in essence skirting the laws about not having a third term by being married to Hillary during her presidency. They ran as "two for the Price of One" in 1992, and it would be no different today.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Why I Don't Support John McCain for President - Updated

I am trying to get down to the bottom line on how I feel about this current Republican Presidential Candidate. This is a summary that I hope clears things up. Maybe I'll write about the other Presidential candidates similarly, if time permits. Here goes!
  1. He has these open borders guys on his team, including Juan Hernandez, which indicates Mr. McCain does not "get it" about the border. He would still sign the bill that he co-sponsored with Senator Edward Kennedy. Kennedy may yet send it back, if the Democrats win the Congress again. Then we would be a world of trouble, so Mr. McCain is not trustworthy there.
  2. the Gang of 14 deal weakened the President's ability to submit and get votes on the Supreme court justices of his choosing. Mr. McCain even believes that he should consult the Senate on his possible nominees before actually submitting them, so there is little if any chance a true conservative judicial appointee will be submitted. In this regard, he differs little from the Democrat opponents he will face.
  3. Mr. McCain fought against the Wisconsin Right to Life on a life issue, so his vaunted Pro-Life position is not as strong as it might seem when he proclaims it from the stump.
  4. A Republican president will be the de-facto leader of the party. As such, Congressional Republicans will not fight him on issues that he is liberal on, and will just go along to get along. As president, Mr. McCain will want to get things done, and with a Democrat Congress, he will fight his own party more (maverick, anyone?) than he will fight the Democrats. They will be easier to beat.
  5. Mr. McCain is too old to be President. A contest between him and Barack Obama would be a cakewalk for the first black American President. Mr. McCain might be able to defeat Hillary, because there is so much Clinton fatigue, but he has no chance against a young, popular articulate man with destiny on his side. Also, the war is not as popular, so Mr. McCain's strongest issue is not the top priority in this upcoming election. The war may be my top priority, but many view it as either too long, or almost won, or immoral.
  6. Lastly, the war. I believe it is a travesty of justice to close Guantanamo, which is what he and the Democrats want to do. Keeping the enemy combatants out of this country is essential to keeping our legal system out of military proceedings, and ensuring that we can get the intelligence we need. Also, waterboarding is not torture, as Mr. McCain should know best. I hope never to learn what the other non-torture techniques that are used against terrorists, because they too would become ineffective and Mr. McCain would probably outlaw them too. I am sure that we do not use any tactics nearly as brutal nor unethical as those used on Mr. McCain when he was held by the North Vietnamese. So rather than support Mr. McCain in his effort to become President, I will contribute to congressional candidates, and Senatorial candidates, and hope for the best.
Subsequent comments, 3/23/08: I wrote this in a very angry time in my political life, and while I still believe this, Obama has shown himself to be the Liberal that he has been portrayed as, and Hilary has shown herself to be the ruthless, selfish, spoiled brat of a candidate that she seemed to be before the carefully crafted image she set up for this political race. She's not only bad for the country, she's bad for the Democrat party. She is trying to either win or tear down the party, whichever comes first. It's sad!

Obama Debate Thoughts

I did not have the privilege of watching the Democratic debate in Texas, as I live in Georgia. I did hear some of the clips on the radio. I was disappointed because he seemed to contradict himself. In answer to a question, the candidate seemed to be saying that he would meet with other heads of state without preconditions, then he said that those countries had to prepare to meet with us. He said that meeting with the President of the United States should not be something that those countries have to earn, that we are not above them.

It bothers me that Obama does not recognize that we are one of the best, if not the best, country on the earth. It is not that we are inherently better than other people, but our form of government recognizes the weakness of man, and balances the power among many, to protect the society. It was founded by Godly men of Christian background. Obama not recognizing the strength and value of our country, and form of government is troubling because he seems to equate the US with Cuba, North Korea, and other dictatorially controlled countries, at least morally. There is, to my mind, no moral equivalent between us and those countries. Obama says the foundation of any discussions we may have is freedom in those countries, which sounds a lot like a precondition. Leaving aside the apparent contradiction, he does seem to let his view that we have freedom, and they need it, surface, if ever so briefly. I have hope that Obama will change to let that portion of his understanding win out when he becomes President. I am not sure, but can only hope.

Shelby Steele has an interesting book about Obama out, and I intend to read it. I read a chapter or two, and recommend it for those who want to know the background of this man who could be President.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

McCain: not saved by the NYT Attacks

Today I heard of the salacious stories about John McCain and some lobbyist named Iseman. She looks good, for an old guy like him, but she's not much different than his trophy wife. Putting aside the obvious target of a candidate fooling around on the campaign trail, and focusing on the ethics issues, it seems awfully suspicious that Mr. McCain was close to a lobbyist when he is trying to build and maintain this image of a good, clean incorruptible guy.

Now as a guy, I know how easy it is to be influenced by pretty women. They are all over, and if one is not careful, he could be attracted to, and therefore make foolish decisions because of one of those women. I have to stay away from women like that, as I have higher goals in mind than just fulfilling my flesh. I don't think that many guys will honestly say that they can hang around with attractive women and not be attracted to them, so this was a foolish move on Mr. McCain's part. So let's be clear about that: The appearance of impropriety is a big thing when one is trying to be the clean candidate, and it casts a bad light on his judgment. As President, judgment is the key quality that is required.

With good judgment, I would trust almost anyone as President. I say "almost anyone" because "good judgment" implies that the person will defend and protect the country above fulfilling their person desires and maintaining their personal image. Such a person with good judgment would protect our borders first, and protect our people from foreign invaders, whether they are invading through cracks in the fence, or just overstaying their welcome (9/11 anybody?). A person with good judgment would help people to achieve their best, and encourage them to provide for themselves and help their fellow man. A person with good judgment would also protect the most innocent among us, such as unborn babies, while letting those who have been found dangerous to society face the consequences of their proven actions.

So just because the New York Times is attacking John McCain does not change my position on his judgment. It also does not change the positions that drove me to not want to vote for Mr. McCain. While I do believe that the enemy of my enemy may be my friend, Mr. McCain has not proven that he is a friend to me. He is simply facing the heat that would come on any enemy of the liberal establishment, as voiced by the NYT. A moderate Republican is too conservative for the NYT, but not conservative enough for a true conservative like me. They endorsed John McCain in the primaries, but had no intention of supporting him in the general election. Why should anyone follow the suggestions of a hostile group of people when picking their candidate? Yet the media pointed to his endorsement by the NYT, his victories in "blue states", and people started talking about electing the candidate who can win "broad support". When poles of the Big Tent are liberal, the tent tends to collapse to the left.

I know not one person who is excited about John McCain for President. Not one. And I know a lot of people, from various parts of the country. Groups like the NYT believe that we will like or dislike a group for personal reasons. To a small extent, that is true, but the main reason conservatives like a candidate is that they like his positions on the issues, and trust that he will give every effort to getting those positions enacted into our laws or at least into our culture. Sometimes a position can be influential by just repeating it from the bully pulpit, while there are clearly those that need to be enacted into law. This explains why the Border enforcement and the Fair Tax were not enough to propel Mike Huckabee into the top position in the campaign. Not enough people believed he would really do those things, and not enough people really believed he was conservative enough that they could really trust him to get the job done in a conservative way. He had a record of running as a conservative, but then backing down to a Democrat legislature. He also has a class warfare streak that comes out in speeches and in debates, and that rubs a lot of conservatives the wrong way. But that's a whole nother subject.

These primaries were without the two main candidates we would have liked to see, and so we had to choose between five people who were not our first choices for President. Probably the best would have been George Allen or Jeb Bush, if they would have run. However, Macaca and Bush derangement syndrome along with Bush fatigue shot those guys out of the water. We are now down to the lesser of five lessers, and Mr. McCain is less than we want. No matter what the NYT says or does, John McCain is not the kind of guy I can get behind with any enthusiasm, even if I feel compelled to defend him on some issues they raise. I almost cannot vote for him, which some might see as a softening of my position.

This leaves me wanting to tell you about how the Gang of 14 ruined my chances of voting for McCain, and how the Mexican border positions Mr. McCain takes are hardening me in my opposition to Mr. McCain, but that will have to wait. I have to go to bed, to stop complaining about McCain, because I have a job to attend in the morning. I work my butt off all day to support my family and pay my taxes, so I need my sleep. By the way: when do Candidates sleep? They seem to always be up, or on their way somewhere, leading a press junket on aq plane. Oh well... Good night!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Anybody But McCain (still)

I have been toying with the idea that I should not vote for John McCain. Not that he is not a great Vietnam hero; he is. Not that he did not have a conservative voting record, it is generally more conservative than his Democratic opponents. It's the rest of his baggage that makes him unpalatable.

Mr. McCain is supposed to be giving us conservative judicial nominees, but if memory serves, was not the Gang of 14 about making the President submit his choices to the Senate before actually submitting them as candidates? Did McCain not advocate the president consulting with Congress before submitting candidates, to ensure that they were not too "out of the mainstream"?
Lest you think I am out on a limb by myself, Mark Levin has written a column much more scholarly than I could ever write, but then, I don't expect my readers to all be scholars.

On the immigration issue, Mr. McCain has Juan Hernandez on his campaign staff as an adviser on Latino affairs. That is like the fox guarding the proverbial henhouse, as Senior Hernandez is a Mexican citizen, who advocates open borders and pseudo-amnesty.