Month: December 2009

The Decade: A Personal Review

  

As a historian, I have to evaluate what has transpired over time. This past decade, as the cartoon above indicates, has had some pretty rough spots: the contested 2000 presidential election; the horror of 9/11; the War on Terror that divided us as a people; natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina; the massive financial crisis that came to the forefront just prior to the 2008 elections; the ushering in of a president and Congress that believes we should spend our… Read more »

Two Types of Independents

  

I’ve been watching the poll numbers for President Obama. While he’s on a downward slide overall, he’s in particular trouble with what the politicos term “independents.” Just who are these people? Actually, there are two groups I would call independents. The first group is less numerous—people concerned that the political parties are not holding firm to their principles. This group is comprised of probably equal numbers of those on the left and the right of the political spectrum. They tend… Read more »

Senate Constitutional Scholarship

  

At a press conference this week, Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas was caught offguard with an impertinent question: “What part of the Constitution do you think gives Congress the authority to mandate that individuals have to purchase health insurance?” Her answer was a model of constitutional scholarship: : “Well, I just think the Constitution charges Congress with the health and well-being of the people.” Sounds definitive, right? I just happen to have a copy of the Constitution at hand. Let… Read more »

The Real Christmas Problem

  

This is the time of the year for Christians to bemoan the secularized Christmas that dominates our national landscape. I certainly would hate to disappoint. After all, Christmas is the starting point for the most miraculous series of events that the world has ever witnessed. God taking the form of man is a rather big deal. The path to the crucifixion was filled with one miracle after another. The crucifixion itself was the greatest testimony to God’s love for a… Read more »

American Character: John Peter Muhlenberg

  

John Peter Muhlenberg was pastor of a church in Woodstock, Virginia, prior to the American Revolution. His interest in government was evident—he was elected to the House of Burgesses in 1774 and was known as a follower of Patrick Henry. As events unfolded into 1775, a year that saw the battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill initiate colonial resistance to British policies, Muhlenberg sensed that as a pastor he had a responsibility to challenge his flock to put… Read more »

Beware the Radical Presbyterians

  

There’s your first warning for today. As you probably have suspected, I and others like me take our orders from the alternative media. Whatever they say we should say, we dutifully follow suit. We never think for ourselves; we want others to think for us. Unlike those who listen to the mainstream media . . . Yes, there are those of us who haven’t yet seen the light. We continue to describe terrorists as terrorists. Further, we constantly identify those… Read more »

Creating Prosperity

  

It was during the Great Depression of the 1930s that our political leaders decided that the best way to become prosperous was to “prime the pump” via government spending. We adopted the philosophy of the British economist John Maynard Keynes, who said that deficits don’t really matter that much. Prior to the Great Depression, most Americans didn’t look to government to create prosperity. They understood that the free market accomplished that feat. Ronald Reagan tried to wean us from the… Read more »