Posted by Daniel Downs in Barak Obama, Constitution, corporations, culture war, Declaration of Independence, faith, God, health care, Jesus Christ, liberals, living wage, morality, news, politics, poverty, truth, wages, welfare.
Sojourner’s Jim Wallis is America’s leading preacher of faith healing. Unlike his charismatic brethren, Wallis is preaching faith in government. In praise of the benevolent overlords of health care, Wallis calls on us to believe in the liberal’s health care plan for miraculous healing. Like the healing ministry of Jesus, Wallis proclaims the federal government will save the poor from a woeful lack health care and poverty as well.
Actually, his latest sermon didn’t include deliverance from poverty by government or anyone else. The likely reason is that neither government bureaucrats nor big business has any plans of raising the poor out of the dependency on their big government savior. I doubt that Obama does either.
I know my comments seem to border on the edge of intolerant blasphemy, but consider Wallis’ words:
We are calling on people of faith to carry on the healing ministry of Jesus by making sure your political representatives understand that the faith community will be satisfied with nothing less than accessible, affordable health care for all Americans, built on a solid financial foundation. (emphasis added)
People of faith need to be the steady, moral drumbeat driving the debate and keeping our politicians accountable. This is a critical and long-overdue opportunity to fix a broken and inequitable system, which must not be derailed either by powerful special interests or by those, on any side, who just want to score political points. It is up to all of us to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Like Wallis, the United Methodist Church believes it is the government’s responsibility to provide all citizens with adequate health care. I have to ask; where in the Bible does it say that? Where in the U.S. Constitution does it give liberal politicians in Washington the legal authority? Maybe they read the general welfare clause as being non-restrictive in such matters.
If so, why don’t they interpret it in a way that gives themselves the power to ensure that every working American earns a wage they can live on? It would be equitable for every working American to earn enough for a minimally independent life without welfare assistance. Isn’t it more important for individuals to earn enough to pay banks for a mortgage, pay GM for a new car every 3-5 years, to maintain clothing and housewares, to purchase government mandated new television and communication technologies, to buy healthy food, as well as adequate health care insurance?
The answer given by federal and state politicians as well as Wall Street funded corporations is NO unless you are fully dependent on Almighty Gov or on one of its Union bosses, AFL-CIO or NEA for example. One exception is if you have been blessed by fate with the right global market skills developed at the right university with a more marketable degree such science, computer technology, medicine, law, or business investment and marketing. Having been born or raised in the right family or have gained the right social connections helps too.
Wallis’ liberal propaganda jazzed up with religious hype makes right-wing theocrats look like Saint Theresa. At least she actually helped the poor, diseased, and the orphan. If as I suspect, Wallis is sincere in his effort to help the poor and needy; it appears he has wondered to far from the fold and has enter the den of wolves.
Jesus said, “The wolf comes to kill, to steal, and to destroy.” The gospel of government salvation has the serpent imprint. The glorious health care reform being evangelized to America will not only help those kept in poverty with paying for government’s health care insurance but it will insure the killing of the unborn and the useless elderly. The miracle healing promised by faith in government will also continue robbing many of an equitable income as well the freedom from the tyranny of dependency on government or quasi-governments such as Wall Street funded corporations. Many financial experts, economists, and even brave health professionals are claiming that the current government is destroying our economy, our better than all other national health care systems, and our future.
Jesus also said, “The truth will set you free.” The truth is Obama, liberals, and wayward Christians are not telling the truth. Read the dag-gone health bills and committee amendments. Then consider this: medical science can only assist the human body to heal itself. That is how God designed it. Only the Creator can actually heal the human body. He alone can reprogram the DNA or other aspects of mutated organisms that destroy normal human cells. Maybe one day, medical science will actually discover all of the Designer’s secrets, but until then, only faith in God for healing is warranted.
Sources: Sojourner, August 20, 2009; United Methodist Church News, August 19, 2009; John 10: 10; and John 8:32.
Posted by Daniel Downs in Barak Obama, children, economy, family, health care, John McCain, living wage, news, politics, secularism, socialism, welfare state.
Children’s Defense Fund sells itself as a non-partisan organization fighting for the good of America’s children. From its secular-liberal perspective, it is seeking what Miriam Edelman believes is good for our children. A look at the scorecard contradicts the non-partisan part of its sales pitch. In all 10 categories, those who rate the best Senators and Representatives are exclusively Democrats and the worst are exclusively Republican. From Children’s Defense Fund’s leftist perspective, all non-partisan conservatives are the enemy of their liberal agenda for America’s children. That includes John McCain who score place him among the worst Senators even though he only voted on two of the 10 related issues.
Maybe I’m being a little extreme in my assessment of Children’s Defense Fund’s ranking of politicians and their voting behavior (or should it be orientation). To some readers, my introduction thus far might make an objective reassessment seem unlikely, but let me try it anyway.
The Scorecard evaluates Congresspersons based on their votes on 10 different bills or parts of bills.
The minimum wage bill (HR & S ) would raise minimum wage from $5.25 to $7.25. Opponents claim it will force employers to eliminate some low-wage jobs thus increasing unemployment. Proponents doubt it claiming it will help offset increasing prices fro consumer goods. Even with the increase, anyone working 40 hours a week at minimum wage still has below poverty level income.
Children’s Defense Fund’s efforts to move universal health care plan and state funded higher education does not solve and is not intended to solve the underlying problem. As Charles Reich has pointed out, the problem is the corporate-government partnership that creates and maintains poverty. Socialist programs proposed or supported by organizations like Children’s Defense Fund further erodes economic independence or liberty by increasing dependency of more and more Americans on federal and state welfare.
Like most other liberal organizations, Children’s Defense Fund is not merely seeking the well-being of America’s children. They are seeking a completely secular and socialist America over which the chosen secularists or liberals rule.
As I have written in other posts, their zealous support for the Democrat version of SCHIP shows the paternalism of their socialist-statist views. It seems evident that they intend to increase taxes on tobacco forcing low and middle-income people either to pay the increases or to quit smoking, which in turn will force the federal government to increase Medicare-Medicaid taxes to pay for middle- and low-income children’s health care.
What secularists do not want to do is change the current political economy to make business pay workers a livable wage while freezing prices because their benefactors would not like it. Children Defense Fund is not actually helping America’s children they are harming them and their families by not demanding genuine economic reform now.
What is as disturbing as their use of the poor to promote their agenda is their blatant opposition to our founders and their ideology. The familiar saying that a picture is worth a thousand words is true of the picture on the second page of the scorecard. The title states “These Fathers Are Behind In Their Child Support.” The picture below appears to be Benjamin Franklin and other leading founders. The message is that of radical secular fundamentalists. The religious-oriented founders were no count white men who didn’t have the best interest of America’s children at heart. Only leftist feminists do and especially black radical secularists.
Barak Obama is their champion. He is classified as one of their best supporting Senators. He scored only 10 points less than Hillary Clinton only because he was either absent or chose not to vote on four issues. Obama was most likely absent because he has stated his support for the Democrat’s version of the State Children’s Insurance Program, Head Start programs, funding college education, and universal health care. And, all of these legislative issues if passed move more low- and middle class into planned socialist (welfare) state dependency.
To view a copy of Children’s Defense Fund Scorecard, click here.
Posted by Daniel Downs in abortion, Barak Obama, conservative, Constitution, Democrats, divorce, economy, education, family, gay politics, health care, Hilary Clinton, illegal immigrants, income tax, John McCain, liberals, living wage, Medicare/Medicaid, news, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), political campaigns, politics, polls, Republicans, Ron Paul, welfare.
A recent Gallup poll asked a little over 1,000 Americans the following question: “In politics, as of today, do you consider yourself a Republican, a Democrat, or an independent?” The graph below reveals how Americans responded compared to similar surveys for the past three months. (more…)
Posted by Daniel Downs in children’s health care, Constitution, Democrats, family, George W. Bush, living wage, Nancy Pelosi, news, politics, poverty, Republicans, SCHIP.
Democrats passed their new State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill yesterday. If it passes the Senate, President Bush has already promised to veto it. The following is a summary of his reasons:
- “The Democrats’ new legislation continues to cover children in families earning more than $62,000 per year (300 percent of the Federal poverty level).”
- “The Democrats’ new legislation continues to allow States to avoid covering poor children first.”
- “The Democrats’ new legislation continues to raise taxes to move 2 million children covered by private health insurance onto government-run programs with fewer choices and longer lines.”
- “The Democrats’ new legislation continues to allow SCHIP to cover ineligible individuals.” According to House Republican Conference analysis, the new legislation also raises the age of eligibility from 19 to 21. It still fails to prevent adults including those without children. Democrats claimed the new bill would prevent illegal aliens from receiving benefits, but no citizenship test is actually required.
- “The Democrats’ new legislation shifts more responsibility to the Federal government.”
According to the House Republican Conference, SCHIP also employs a budget gimmick in order to comply with pay-as-you-go. From 2008-2012, funding levels will increase to more than $8.4 billion a year, then after 2012, the funding level will drop off to only $600 million in 2013. CBO previously reported that this type of budget gimmick will cause 6.5 million children to lose their SCHIP coverage by 2017. In addition, CBO indicated it will cost an extra $40 billion to allow these children to continue on SCHIP.
The House Republican Conference also claims the bill “increases the rate of excise taxes … on tobacco products and cigarette papers and tubes.”
This increases the tax on:
- Cigars from 20.719% to 53% with a $3 per cigar cap;
(more…)
Posted by Daniel Downs in children, children’s health care, Constitution, Democrats, First Amendment, George W. Bush, illegal immigrants, law, living wage, Nancy Pelosi, news, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), politics, poverty, Republicans, SCHIP, Separation of Church and State, truth, welfare.
Christians have organized to overturn President Bush’s veto of State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Among those high stepping to the liberal bleep against Pres. Bush are liberal leaning Rev. Jim Wallis, Rev. Hayward Wiggins, spokesman for PICO National Network and the National Council of Churches. It is great that Christians can mobilize for a good cause. Just a couple of elections ago, America voted in a conservative Congress along with Pres. Bush by just such a mobilization. However, the current mobilization is more about perpetuating the liberal agenda than it is about helping needy children. (more…)
Posted by Daniel Downs in children, education, family, free market, freedom, Income, justice, liberals, living wage, National Compact, news, political economy, politics, welfare, work.
Senator Ted Kennedy and Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings recently published an article The Politico. In “National epidemic, economic necessity,” they claim a national epidemic exists causing large disparities in our economy. The national epidemic they refer is the large number of high school dropouts. Large disparity of incomes between high school graduates and dropouts is reason for great concern. They seem to suggest that this disparity is reflected in the large income disparity reported by our nation’s economists. Their solution to bridging the gap between rich and poor is to solve the school dropout epidemic. (more…)
Keep Jerusalem United
The State of America 