It appears an agreement has been reached between Democrats and Republicans with respect to the Bush tax cuts—they will be extended for two years for all taxpayers [I was going to write “all Americans,” but then I realized many Americans pay no income tax—52% of us cover the other 48%]. In announcing this agreement, President Obama was more than a little testy. In fact, he came across as downright petulant. One could be forgiven for calling his demeanor pouty. He… Read more »
I always like to recommend good books. Usually, I focus on newer releases, but once in a while I want to point out a largely forgotten book that deserves more of an audience. One such book is Herbert Schlossberg’s Idols for Destruction. Schlossberg aims at the various idols men create to take the place of God. One of his chapters, “Idols of History,” I use in my Historiography course. Another, “Idols of Power,” fits nicely in a new course I… Read more »
The congressional song and dance on the extension of the Bush tax cuts has been fascinating to watch. The Democrats try to position themselves as the champions of the middle class while excoriating the Republicans as tools of the filthy rich. The Republicans, meanwhile, push for extending the tax cuts to all Americans rather than just the middle class. That puts them in a bad light in the eyes of some, but those who can analyze and think clearly realize… Read more »
On Thursday, the House of Representatives formally voted to censure one of its members—Charlie Rangel of New York. A censure has occurred only 23 times now in the history of the institution. It is the highest penalty that can be meted out other than expulsion. Rangel justly earned it. Yet, given an opportunity to speak for one minute after the censure vote, Rangel used that minute to say he did nothing wrong, and chided the House for, in essence, abusing… Read more »
Sometimes a story hits the news that kind of takes over, yet I have less interest in it than the news outlets do. That’s pretty much how I feel about the whole WikiLeaks controversy. It’s not that I don’t recognize it as a genuine story—I even have deep concern over the unauthorized leaking of private government information. It’s just that it is so covered that I don’t simply want to rehash what everyone already knows. However, I have discovered that… Read more »
Last week, North Korea attacked South Korea. This is an old story: it happened in 1950 as well, which led to a three-year war [police action?] that ended in a truce, but not a real solution to the dilemma. The North has never given up its original intent—to take over the entire Korean peninsula. It remains one of the most hardline communist governments in the world, and continues to be supported by China. When it chose to fire missiles at… Read more »
In C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, a senior devil—Screwtape—gives advice to a junior devil—Wormwood—under his tutelage. Reading this “advice” provides excellent insight into how God works in our lives. For instance, on the subject of prayer, what might a devil say? Here’s one possibility: Whenever they are attending to the Enemy Himself we are defeated, but there are ways of preventing them from doing so. The simplest is to turn their gaze away from Him towards themselves. Keep them… Read more »