Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Thank You Veterans

Let's take time today to reflect on the sacrifices of the men and women who have stood between us and war's desolation. We owe a debt of gratitude to these brave heroes, a debt we can never repay. We must also purpose to teach our children about the heritage which is being bequeathed to them. My own son has two great grandfathers who fought in WWII. One stormed the beaches on D-Day and the other was involved in the capture of Iwo Jima. As he grows we will be teaching him about this legacy of heroism so that he too may become a patriot.

We are in a battle today for the heart and soul of America. Radical self-centeredness is the ethic of the day. Millions of Americans are looking to government to provide for them. They expect to live a life of ease with all the comforts of life handed to them on a silver platter. We must recover the ethic of our brave veterans who heard the call and took responsibility to protect their country and their families.

Thank you veterans for your selfless sacrifice for us and for our homes and families.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Is this a joke?

Why is it that Obama has chosen Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm as one of his economics advisors? Isn't Michigan's economy the worst of any state in the Union? Don't they have an unemployment of almost 9%? What is wrong with this picture? Are we losing touch with reality?

AHHHHHHHH!

Thursday, November 06, 2008

What does it all mean?

I probably join many of you in mentally processing the meaning of the results of Tuesday's election. It is not easy. I am finding myself with more questions than answers. I have found myself with a dull ache in the pit of my stomach and find myself thinking..."we are losing our country".

As a Christian, I realize that God rules no matter who is president...and I do indeed find comfort in that. I do, however, struggle to think that the country that we have known is becoming something that many of us won't recognize in the future...and maybe not the too distant future. This grieves me deeply.

For example I think of a USA that has been strong enough to defend itself against our enemies, a country strong enough yet with a sense of moral duty that has led us to liberate many of the world's oppressed peoples, the most recent example being the people of Iraq. Barack Obama has promised to cut back our military. Specifically, he has promised to limit development of new weapon systems and to impede the weaponization of space. It was Reagan's threat to weaponize space with the Strategic Defense Initiative which forced the USSR to crumble. Why will we shoot ourselves in the foot like this when our enemies like Iran are bent on acquiring nuclear weapons? I fear for a weaker America, a vulnerable America.

I also think about an America which has valued personal ambition and responsibility. This is a nation where nearly everyone can succeed with the expenditure of blood, sweat, and tears. I think of an America where my grandparents worked hard to save and build a meaningful life for themselves and their families. Barack Obama has vowed to penalize hard work. He fully intends to take the wealth earned by the American people and give it to those who have not earned it. This is immoral. It is always moral to share of your own wealth to help those in need. It is always immoral to take other peoples wealth to help those in need. These plans will put a severe strain on the US economy...mark my words. There are always unintended consequences when governments limit freedom and interfere with the free market and the ability of markets to set the prices on goods and services. As I think about all of this, I wonder about the economic future of my family. I wonder about the economic future for my children. Barack Obama will damage the US economy.

I think about a United States where life is valued. After all, our constitution enshrines the right to "LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". But since 1973 I see a nation that is becoming a culture of death. Barack Obama is the epitome of this with his radical views on abortion and infanticide. How long will it be before we lose the value of life at the other end? As soon as we set ourselves up as the arbiters of who may have life and who may not (read the unborn), we are on a very dangerous trajectory toward a "Brave New World" that I believe none of us will recognize as the America of our forefathers. This makes me very sad.

These are just some of my thoughts. By way of encouragement let me leave you with a word from Abraham Kuyper that I find encouraging even as we find ourselves now to be led by a radical,

"In the total expanse of human life there is not a single square inch of which the Christ, who alone is sovereign,does not declare,'That is mine!'"

The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

A must read before you vote




In light of the $700 billion bailout, I recently picked up the book by Thomas Sowell entitled, Basic Economics. If you have never studied economics and want an easy to understand analysis of basic economic principles and laws, this is the book for you. After just 3 chapters of reading, I am more convinced than ever that the election of Barak Obama will represent a significant step in the movement of this country toward socialism. With his desire to "share the wealth", Obama embraces the same ideology espoused by Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels in the Communist Manifesto...read it!

Socialism has been tried numerous times and has been proven to be an ineffective means get scarce resources to the people who need them. Just look at socialized medicine in Canada for example. Are you ready to stand in line or even be denied for a routine medical procedure such as a mammogram? If people are given "free healthcare", more people will flood doctors' offices and demand will exceed supply. We all like something for nothing right?

The United States of America has always stood for the principle that financial security is derived through hardwork and effort. The people who make this country work are not the people who sit around and wait for the government to pay for their healthcare, their heating bills, or anything else. They are the people who get up every day and do whatever it takes to provide for themselves and for their families. This is the attitude that has made the US economy the greatest in the world.
Something to think about as you enter the polling place on November 4.

Friday, May 02, 2008

Parents...time to say no to the celebrity culture

If you are a parent who allows your children to become enchanted by the celebrity culture, you've been disappointed once again. While I am no fan of Hannah Montana or Miley Cyrus, one can't help but see in the news the controversy resulting from the recent image of Miley that has become public. What kind of a world do we live in when a 15 year old girl can be used in this way? The question really is...where are her parents?

The broader point that I want to make is that it's time for Christian parents to just say no to to the celebrity culture so that we may say YES to what's much more important. Parents, why don't we set godly role models before our kids? Why don't we teach them to read about the heroes of the faith instead of spending hours watching the banal happenings on cable television? We are so often like the lemmings who just follow one another right off the cliff into moral chaos. Where are the parents who will have the courage to give their children something better? Where are the parents who will teach their children that beauty is less about the outward and more about the inner person?

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Goodbye Edward Lorenz







I wanted to salute mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz (1917-2008) who died recently. Known as the father of "chaos theory" and a Professor Emeritus at MIT, this man contributed immensely to our understanding of complex nonlinear dynamic systems. Well-known for the fabled "Butterfly Effect", he aided us in our understanding about the predictability of the output of complex systems and showed that many systems are extremely sensitive to the initial conditions. In other words, the flapping wings of a butterfly in Brazil may result in a devastating tornado in Texas at some future time. The importance of his work cannot be overestimated and he has been compared to Isaac Newton with regard to how his work changed our understanding of reality. I have included my own rendition of the Lorenz Attractor.


Goodbye Professor Lorenz!