The Master Has Come

The Master hath come, and He calls us to follow
The track of the footprints He leaves on our way;
Far over the mountain and through the deep hollow,
The path leads us on to the mansions of day:
The Master hath called us, the children who fear Him,
Who march ’neath Christ’s banner, His own little band;
We love Him and seek Him, we long to be near Him,
And rest in the light of His beautiful land.

The Master hath called us; the road may be dreary
And dangers and sorrows are strewn on the track;
But God’s Holy Spirit shall comfort the weary;
We follow the Savior and cannot turn back;
The Master hath called us, though doubt and temptation
May compass our journey, we cheerfully sing:
“Press onward, look upward,” through much tribulation;
The children of Zion must follow the King.

The Master hath called us, in life’s early morning,
With spirits as fresh as the dew on the sod:
We turn from the world, with its smiles and its scorning,
To cast in our lot with the people of God:
The Master hath called us, His sons and His daughters,
We plead for His blessing and trust in His love;
And through the green pastures, beside the still waters,
He’ll lead us at last to His kingdom above.

-Sar­ah Doud­ney, 1871

American Recovery Act Spending in Ohio

This morning I read about how American Recovery Act Spending in Minnesota was reported by the government to be going to non-existent congressional districts. So I decided to check out the website for myself and look at spending in in my own state of Ohio. Here is what I found...but first of all you must realize that Ohio has 18 congressional districts numbered 1 through 18 using the old math.

No jobs have been created in the following congressional districts in Ohio:
00, 21, 99, 87, 85, 49, 54, 20, and 56

The corresponding amount of money used to stimulate jobs in these non-existent districts total:
$5,303,915

You can check this out for yourself: http://www.recovery.gov
You may want to check out the spending for your own state.

The question is, where did this money really go? One of the purported purposes of the website is "for the reporting of potential fraud, waste, and abuse." It's time for Americans to wake up and demand that the federal government explain where this money is going.

On Veteran's Day...

On this Veteran's Day it is our duty to once again thank the men and women who have sacrificed so much that we and people around the world may be free of tyranny and oppression. The man shown on the left is Lt. John P. Balzer, USMC, my grandfather who during World War II helped to secure the highly fortified Pacific island of Iwo Jima. He never talked much about his experience and the little that I did learn about his time there came mostly through third parties. I'm guessing that part of this was because of the difficulty of facing death all around and the trauma that this creates in one's soul whether the fallen are friend or foe (I'm guessing he saw both.) I also believe that part of his silence was a result of humility. We hail these men as heros and rightly so, but I think for many of them, they merely rose up and did what they had to do when evil was on the rise in the world. These men rose up when their families and the nation they loved were at risk. Thank you, grandpa, for your example of service and Semper Fi.

It is on this Veteran's day that I fear that we are losing the values that made our country strong in the past exemplified in the lives of men like Lt. Balzer. These great men never asked for an easy life and they never waited on anyone else for handouts. They knew that it was up to them to live and work and fight when necessary to accomplish goals and promote values that were greater than themselves. What we are seeing now in our country would make many of these heros role over in their graves. We seem to be living in a country where we are afraid to stand up for the values of freedom and liberty for fear that we might "offend" someone. We want to assume that no worldview is necessarily right or wrong and that everyone, no matter who they are, is entitled to their opinion even if they are Muslim radicals. Where are the men with backbone who are willing to call a spade a "spade"? Where are the men who will selflessly stand up and speak the truth when no one else is? Where are the patriotic young Americans who will step up to the plate and lead this country where it needs to go?

On this Veteran's Day, I call on young men and women in this great country to think about how you will live. Are you going to take the path of least resistance? Are you going to wait around for others to stand up or are you going to take the initiative and be a leader as everyone around you is asleep at the switch? There would be no greater salute to our veterans this day than for the young people of this country to take up the mantle of the "Greatest Generation" and begin to sway the balance of power in the Land back toward those who value virtue, freedom, and liberty.

Free to live and love as we see fit?

On Wednesday, 10.28.09, President Obama signed "hate crimes" legislation.

In a part of his remarks, the President made the following statement:
"Time and again we've been reminded of the difficulty of building a nation in which we're all free to live and love as we see fit." See http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-reception-commemorating-enactment-matthew-shepard-and-james-byrd-

When you think about it, this is a stunning statement of man-centered, moral relativism. Is this really what the President intended to say? Are there really no constraints on what I may do as long as I see fit to do it? Is morality really subjective? I fear that by making these kinds of statements (and there have been others) that our President is making himself the chief arbiter and final judge of moral standards.

Unfortunately, Mr. Obama, Yahweh has reserved this right for himself exclusively, that is the right to decide which acts are fit and which is not. I would respectfully urge the President to refrain from making these kinds of statements which imply that man the measure of all things. These kinds of statements are dangerous. As the creatures, this is not the prerogative of any man and certainly not the prerogative of any President of the United States.

The Coming Storm

I just finished watching an interview with two scholars concerning Israel and their intentions and ability to strike Iran's nuclear facilities unilaterally. It would appear that they will be left with no choice but to act alone against this existential threat especially given the current US administration's distancing themselves from Israel. http://tv.nationalreview.com/uncommonknowledge

It seems possible that such a situation could quickly spin out of control and that the worldwide implications of such an action would be great. At a minimum, we here in the US better be prepared for substantial increases in the price of gasoline if such events unfold. We also better be prepared for asymetrical warfare against US interests worldwide.

Let us call upon our government and our President to stand by Israel during these difficult and uncertain times. It's time for us to put some pressure, even military pressure on Iran to back down on their threats against Israel's existence.

America's Healthy Future?

For those of you who have not yet downloaded the 1502 page health reform bill that will be making its way to the floor of the Senate, let me inform you that the bill is entitled, "America's Healthy Future Act of 2009".

I find this only moderately amusing. It conjures up images of healthy, well-proportioned people eating Wheaties after coming in from an early morning run. It also brings mental pictures of 3 and 4 year old kids asking their moms for brocolli instead of candy.

Are you serious? America's Healthy Future Act? This bill is a Washington power grab unlike anything we've ever seen. Make no mistake, no US Senator really cares about whether you eat your Wheaties or feed your kids brocolli or whether you are in fact healthy at all. What they care about is finding more ways to regulate your life and your existence. This bill will ultimately result in a depletion of your personal freedom.

As I've written before, it will also result in an increase in demand and a reduction of supply for healthcare services. This will ultimately raise the real cost of healthcare and/or lead to rationing of services. This will not lead to a healthier America, but will in fact cause a deterioration of the health of Americans in general over time. This bill is not what we need. What we need is freedom.

The Stimulus is Stimulating

I guess that's why the unemployment rate has risen to just shy of 10%. Sounds stimulating to me!

Leave Our Healthcare Alone

The more I read about the proposed plans for a government overhaul of healthcare, the more I realize that what is proposed can only be bad for America. Whenever a commodity is made available to people at a price that is fixed by the government, the demand for that commodity increases. For example, if I have a health problem and I am considering going to the emergency room, I am going to think very carefully about whether I need to go if I am immediately going to have to write a check for $150. However, if the government were to fix the top price of an ER visit to $20, I am not going to take much time to think about it because I'm not going to be out much money. When you have a whole group of people who are reasoning in this way, you can see that the demand will increase very quickly. Just imagine what would happen if under government healthcare, a trip to the ER became "free".

In addition, fixing the price of healthcare will have the effect of lowering the number of healthcare professionals such as doctors and nurses. Doctor's salaries by necessity need to be lower in that case which implies that there will be less incentive for anyone to sacrifice the time and sweat equity necessary to become a physician. We therefore will have an increased demand coupled with a reduced supply which will logically lead to a reduction in the quality of care and in some cases may lead to the rationing of care.

For those interested in a good book on economics that deals with the economics of healthcare, please see Thomas Sowell's book, Applied Economics.

When life is not valued...

Has anyone noticed the irony?

On Monday, President Obama signed an Executive Order to remove limitations on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. This will lead to the death of thousands of our fellow Americans for the purpose of "research" funded by your tax dollars.

On Tuesday a man kills 12 people in Alabama in a senseless shooting rampage.

On Wednesday a man kills 15 people in Germany in a school.

How do you like this brave new world in which we live? It's little suprise to me that when we show no respect for the dignity of human life, little by little society crumbles to the point where individual citizens also show no respect for the dignity of human life. We can't have our cake and eat it too.

On Monday, we have the leader of the free world deciding who lives and who dies.

On Tuesday, we have a gunman in Alabama deciding who lives and who dies.

On Wednesday, we have a gunman in Germany deciding who lives and who dies.

Oh God,
Forgive us for our lack of respect for human beings created in the image of God. Particularlly, forgive us for our apathy and for our failure to speak out concerning these matters. Help us in America to value life once again. Help us to see that each and every person no matter their size has intrinsic value because you formed them by your hand. I pray that this Nation will turn once again to Christ...Her only hope.

A lot of voters have a lot of explaining to do

We now have a President who has displayed his utter contempt for fragile human lives existing in the form of frozen embryos. By undoing the Bush rules on stem cell research, Obama has ensured that there will be still more death. He appears to have no moral compass whatsoever as far as this issue is concerned.

The sad thing is the fact that many people predicted this very thing. The only thing I can deduce from this is that most Americans (read people who voted for Obama) either were ignorant concerning the basic contents of Obama's morality (a transgression without excuse) or they really don't care too much about protecting human life. Either way, these voters including Christians I think, have a lot of explaining to do.

At any rate, Obama's lack of protection of human life is pathetic and unexcusable.

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln

Dear Abraham Lincoln,
I wanted to take the occasion of your 200th birthday to thank you for what you did for our country. So much time has past and we seem to forget (for we are distracted Americans) that at one time our country was on the verge of collapse. We forget that at one time in our country, all men were not free as men are today. We forget that during that time so long ago you led the fight to give freedom to those who were not free. Your hard choice to give men freedom was not popular among all quarters, but your leadership was not governed by what you thought was popular but based on the principles in which you believed. You in fact when it was all said and done, laid down your life for your creed.

I'm sorry to say Mr. President, that we are now engaged in our own country in a second great civil war. In this war there is no smell of gunpowder, there are no flanking maneuvers, there are no bayonet charges, but it is a fierce and may be a prolonged conflict nonetheless. Mr. President, there are those in this your beloved Union that have forgotten what this country that you saved is all about. They have forgotten that freedom isn't free. They minimize the efforts of our valiant men in uniform who are defending us on far-flung battlefields around the world.

There are some in our country who are denying liberty and, in fact, life to a large sector of our fellow citizens. In fact, Mr. President, there are those who are taking life from the most vulnerable among us...those who are still in the womb. You thought slavery was bad, but now we have abortion. You laid down your life that others might be free, while these take others lives to protect their own "freedom to choose". Our own President today is not choosing to defend life. He has taken his authority as an opportunity to make sure that abortions increase both here and around the world.

I'm sorry also to say, Mr. President that at this very hour we have in our own United States Congress those who are prepared to lay an unbearable tax burden upon this nation and its children. While you knew the blood, sweat, and tears of frontier working and living, our government is eager to give vast amounts of money to those who neither work or care to work for what they achieve. Our own President today is touting government as the answer to people's problems. I know that this is diametrically opposed to your own ethic of hard work and reliance upon the Creator.

Worst of all, I must tell you sir that our current President has taken it upon himself to style himself in front of the people as very much like you. He does, however, bear little resemblence to you except that you and he were both from Illinois. He has in a very tacky way sought to usurp what is rightfully yours and make it his own. Many of us, however, see right through this thin and tacky facade at the man that is underneath and know in an instant that he lacks most of the qualities that made you who you were.

I want to tell you Mr. President, that those of us who are on your side in this great new struggle will not let you down. We will continue to fight in the arena of ideas for the ideals that you saw would make America strong. We will be patriots though a vast host seem to be arrayed against us and the Union that we both love so deeply. We will work hard to ensure that "...the government of the people, by the people, and for the people will not perish from the earth".

Sincerely,
Timothy Tuinstra, 2009

Is anyone else tired of the fear-mongering?

It is becoming downright discouraging to learn the depths to which Washington will go in order to scare this nation into supporting a pathetic economic "stimulus" package. I am convinced that this bill will not provide any economic stimulus, but will instead grow the size of government and move us closer toward socialism. This is really an ideologic battle over who best is capable of growing the economy...the government or individual Americans creating wealth by going to their jobs every day and providing goods and services for their neighbors. What I am afraid of is that we are losing this battle in large part because we have a nation whose citizens are not well versed in basic economic principles. People cannot seem to look past what they consider to be their immediate needs to the long term consequences of government interference in people's lives.

Now is the time for patriots to stand up and speak the truth. If we value the United States for what it is and for what has made it great, now is the time for patriots to become engaged and to speak up for the benefits of a free-market. We cannot as much as it depends on us, let this country go in this direction or else the country we leave to our children and grandchildren will be significantly different from the country we had growing up and radically different from what the Founders envisioned.

Social Justice for the Unborn?

As the presidential campaign unfolded back in 2008, I heard many people clamoring for "social justice". Many people, including many Christians, supported the Obama campaign since an Obama administration would bring social justice to the masses.

Now we see what kind of social justice Obama has in mind and it does not seem to include any kind of justice for the unborn. On Friday, Obama signed a Presidential memorandum in which he directed that limitations on abortions in other countries funded by US Federal tax dollars be lifted. This will ensure that there are more abortions in other countries funded by US Tax dollars. Is this the kind of social justice that Obama has in mind? If it is, I do not want to see ANY more social justice.

I would like to see this addressed by believers who voted for Obama. Obama did this as fast as he possibly could indicating to me that he is eager to make abortions more available both in this country and globally.

Thank you George W. Bush

I would like to say thank you to George W. Bush. As he steps off of the world's stage, I would like to thank him for keeping my family and this nation safe after September 11, 2001. Who would have believed that there would be no more attacks on our nation? I know that I had every belief that we would be attacked again.

Mr. Obama and the Christian doctrine of vocation

On the eve of his inauguration as our country's 44th president, Barack Obama is urging Americans to engage in "Community service". This exposes a fundamental misunderstanding that he has about what it means to be a productive member of society. By "community service", I'm guessing that he means by this is that I am supposed to engage in some activity to help and serve my neighbors without expecting anything in return.

Unfortunately, this assumes that what I do "for a living" is not part of my service to the community and that what I do "at work" is just me looking out for my own selfish interests so that I may receive a paycheck.

The Christian doctrine of vocation since the Reformation has always taught that productive members of a society will engage in producing useful goods and services for their neighbors because this is what God intended for them to do. In return for this contribution, I receive from others part of their contribution to society so that as we all work together in this way, all of our needs are met. In our society, we abstract the value of this contribution in the form of currency which we trade with one another.

Obama seems to want for the producers...those that are contributing goods and services to society to donate not only their money...but now their time to those who in many cases are making next to no contribution, not because they can't, but because they won't.

I resent this. Every day that I get up for work, I am performing service to the community by helping educate the next generation of citizens for this country...but apparently this is meaningless to Mr. Obama.