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Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

Donald Trump’s Abortion Logic, Right or Wrong?

Posted in Abortion, Politics, tagged , , on April 3, 2016| 4 Comments »

The past week saw US presidential candidate Donald Trump at the center of another controversy, this time related to the issue of abortion. In an exchange with MSNBC host Chris Matthews during a Town Hall in Wisconsin, Trump responded to Matthews’ question, “Do you believe in punishment for abortion, yes or no as a principle?,” by saying, “The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment.” Matthews asked a clarifying question, “For the woman?” To which Trump answered, “Yes, there has to be some form.”

As a result of his remarks, Trump has come under fire from both pro-choice and pro-life advocates. On the pro-choice side, critics have been quick to seize on Trump’s statement as a correct logical inference of the pro-life position and, therefore, a good reason to reject pro-life arguments in favor of continuing support for Roe v. Wade. As pro-choice writer Jill Filipovic put it, “If abortion is murder, then women who have them are criminals – right?,” and further, “When you make something illegal, it comes with penalties – this is how criminal law works.”

Many pro-life advocates have moved to distance themselves from Trump’s comments, with one abortion opponent stating categorically, “No pro-lifer would ever want to punish a woman who has chosen abortion.” Marjorie Dannenfelser, another pro-life supporter, responding to Trump’s remarks said, “But let us be clear: punishment is solely for the abortionist who profits off the destruction of one life and the grave wounding of another.”

Matthews’ question should be of interest to anyone involved in the abortion debate, especially to Christians, whose faith implies respect for both life, law and logic. With that in mind, what should Trump have said in response to Matthews’ question? The best option open to Trump, and he would have been entirely within his right to do this, would have been for him to punt. Why is this? Because Matthews asked the question of Trump as one, “running for president of the United States [who] will be chief executive of the United States.” But the Federal government has no constitutional role in the abortion debate. As Ron Paul observed,

[T]he Constitution says nothing about abortion, murder, manslaughter, or any other acts of violence. There are only four crimes listed in the Constitution: counterfeiting, piracy, treason, and slavery. Criminal and civil laws were deliberately left to the states (Liberty Defined, 2).

But underlying both Matthews’ question and Trump’s response appears to be the assumption that abortion does, in fact, properly fall within the jurisdiction of the federal courts. But if there is no mention of abortion in the Constitution itself, it is hard to see any reason for the federal courts to have jurisdiction on the matter of abortion.

Instead of allowing himself to be dragged into Matthews’ trap, Trump could have sidestepped the issue by stating he would like to see jurisdiction concerning abortion returned to the states. This can be done, “with a majority vote in Congress and the signature of the President” (Liberty Defined, 7). This approach would have allowed Trump honestly to position himself both as an opponent of Rove v. Wade and an advocate of limited, constitutional government. It would also have saved him a good deal of embarrassment and backtracking.


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A Shave, a Haircut, and the 1964 Civil Rights Act

Posted in Economics, Politics, tagged , , on April 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The latest LGBTQ attack on property rights comes to us courtesy of Rose Trevis, a transgender man – i.e. a woman posing as a man – who has filed suit against Hawleywood’s barbershop in Long Beach, California.

The suit was prompted when Trevis was refused service by the barbershop that has a policy of serving men only. “I felt very upset, I guess discriminated against,” Trevis said. Trevis has retained famed attorney Gloria Allred to represent her.

The last few years have seen an explosion of such suits. Florists, bakers, photographers and bed and breakfast owners, all going about their own business, have found themselves the targets of an aggressive, fascist, unbiblical homosexual rights movement that seeks to use the power of the state to force its agenda on everyone.

In many cases, the business owner’s Christian beliefs were the basis of the refusal of service. In others, such as the barbershop in Long Beach, no religious objection was put forth, only company policy was cited.

Some who support a business owner’s decision to refuse service to homosexual or transgender customers attempt to defend this decision on the basis of free speech, while others do so on the basis of religious liberty. Both defenses, well intentioned as they are, fail for the same reason: the issue is not one of free speech or religious liberty. This issue at hand is one of property rights. Does a business owner reserve the right to refuse service for any reason, or may a customer force him to perform a service against his will?

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Just Choose From What Works

Posted in Economics, Politics, Scripturalism, tagged on March 30, 2016| 2 Comments »

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President Barak Obama addresses the Young Leaders of the Americas Town Hall in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 23, 2016.   

“So often in the past,” said president Barak Obama to a group of Argentinian youth, “there has been a division between left and right, between capitalists and communists or socialists, and especially in the Americas, that’s been a big debate.” The president continued, “Those are interesting intellectual arguments, but I think for your generation, you should be practical and just choose from what works. You don’t have to worry about whether it really fits into socialist theory or capitalist theory. You should just decide what works.”

 

Obama’s remarks have drawn a good deal of fire from conservatives, and rightly so. To downplay the division between communism and capitalism betrays a profound ignorance of economics and of history. Capitalism, the economic system of the Bible with its emphasis on private property, has lifted millions out of poverty and produced relatively free and just societies in the nations where it has been practiced; communism, the collectivist economic system of Karl Marx that places ownership of the means production with the state, has produced untold suffering and death for millions.

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Servants or Masters?

Posted in Politics, tagged on March 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Rehoboam_The Arrogance of

The Arrogance of Rehoboam – Han Holbein the Younger, 1530.

The Bible is filled with statements that touch on political philosophy, but perhaps none is more important than the words Jesus spoke to his disciples when they argued amongst themselves about who was the greatest. The disciples seemed to have taken their understanding of government from examples in the world around them. The Roman Caesars were the foremost models of leadership in the time of Christ, and they were typical of sort of proud men who have ruled in most times and places. In the words of Christ, they “lorded it over” the people. A bit closer to Judea, the Pharisees were of a similar cast of mind. They loved to be greeted with “rabbi, rabbi” and to have the best seats in the synagogues. They were the masters. The people were the servants

 

But Jesus had an entirely different view on those in authority. In his words, “whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be you slave” (Matthew 26:26, 27). It is this teaching that forms the basis of the Western idea of government as a servant of the people. A notion that gained traction after the 16th century Reformation brought about the widespread preaching of, and belief in, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If the teachings of Christ laid the foundation for the idea of government as a servant, what would one expect to see if the Gospel were to fade from men’s consciousness but a reversion to the default position of mankind, rulers who lord it over the people? And this is just what we see happening today.

The Wall Street bailouts of 2008 are one example of this. I read recently that constituent calls to Congress ran 200 to 1 against the bailout. But it happened anyway. In the realm of politics, Hillary Clinton continues her bid for the White House while lugging more legal baggage than any candidate for any office I have ever seen. None of it seems to matter. her campaign goes on with hardly a peep from the mainstream media about the massive investigation surrounding her. In today’s world, being a master of the universe means, among other things, never having to say you’re sorry…or answer for your crimes.  Donald Trump openly insults his rivals during televised debates.  And an official from the Republican party recently told and incredulous CNBC panel that it is the party officials who choose the nominee for president, not the voters in the primaries.

Bailouts, likely criminals getting away with running for president, political parties that ignore the will of their own members, what is this, if not oligarchy? What is this, if not rulers lording it over the people. What is this, if not the very thing for which Christ rebuked his disciples?

Who will our governors be?  Our servants, or our masters? It seems to me that this, more than anything else, is the central question of the 2016 election.


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Zeal Without Knowledge

Posted in Economics, Politics, tagged , , , , on March 13, 2016| 5 Comments »

Angry Voter

The angry voter.

The angry 2016 voter. Anyone who’s followed presidential politics even a little this year has heard all about it. The establishment seems puzzled by it. Jeb Bush, the early odds on favorite to win the Republican nomination, never connected with voters. His campaign is over, an object lesson that all the money in the world cannot buy public support. Hillary Clinton began the campaign with an aura of inevitability about her. Everyone knew the White House was hers for the taking. Instead she finds herself in a political dogfight with an elderly socialist Vermont. And with a possible FBI indictment hanging over her head, her problems on the campaign trail may be the least of her worries.

 

When it comes to voter anger, my first reaction is wonder what took them so long. Theft, lies and double standards have infected the whole of society, and it is amazing to this author just how much nonsense people have been willing to tolerate from the so-called masters of the universe who rule us. But on second thought, is voter anger really a positive development? The apostle Paul tells us it’s good to be zealous in a good thing always. And anger, if it’s focused on the proper object and seeks redress in the proper way, can be good. But anger can easily be channeled in the wrong direction, scapegoating the wrong party or going about things in such a way as to actually make a bad situation worse.

Ever since Soren Kierkegaard famously praised the pagan for worshipping his false god with infinite passion, men have carried about in their minds the false notion that sincerity is more important than truth. But the Bible knows nothing of this notion. Truth is everything. How one feels about it makes no difference. It was the same apostle Paul who praised zeal when focused on good ends, who rebuked the Jews, his countrymen, for having a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Zeal without knowledge is not a good thing. In fact, it is downright dangerous.

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Pride Goeth Before Destruction: Arrogance and the Fall of the American Establishment

Posted in Politics, tagged , on March 6, 2016| 16 Comments »

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The Arrogance of Rehoboam.

“How shall I answer these people” asked the young king as he looked about the veteran faces of the men who had counseled his father before him. The king, you see, was in a bit of a pickle. He had just been confronted by a group of men angry about his father’s policies of heavy taxation and forced labor. They had demanded a rollback of these unpopular policies, and the new king, wanting to start off his reign on the right foot, had sent them away, asking that they return in three days time for his answer.

The king’s father, a man famous for his wisdom in his own day, was not a lone ranger. He had assembled a group of able men who served as his advisors. Today, we might refer to them as his cabinet. And these cabinet advisors were now faced with a history making question. “How do you advise me to answer these people?” That was what the king wanted to know. Upon their answer, and the king’s response, hung the fate of the nation.

The atmosphere, no doubt, was pregnant with anticipation. What would the counselors say? Perhaps taking a moment to consider their words, the men gave their reply. Their answer was this, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” Good words, these. The nation was at the breaking point. My way or the highway was not going to work, and they knew it. What was needed was wisdom, prudence and a gentle spirit.

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They’re Only Making it Worse: The GOP Establishment vs. Donald Trump

Posted in Politics, tagged , , on March 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney speaks out against Donald Trump in Salt Lake City, March 3, 2016.

They’re only making it worse…for themselves that is. I’m speaking about the GOP establishment and it’s lame orchestrated attacks on Donald Trump. Trump, it would seem, is their worst nightmare come true. He’s the raging bull trashing their finely cultivated china shop. And, needless to say, they’re not about to take it lying down. Only given how transparent and ineffective their shots at Trump have been, lying down just might be their best option.

 

Take for example the missive released by CNBC on the morning of March 2, the day after Trump’s decisive Super Tuesday victories. In the article, titled Why Trump can’t be president,
author Julissa Acre calls Trump a sexist, a racist and a bigot. And not content with that, she smears his supporters with the same.

Now far be it from me to defend the Donald’s many outrageous statements or his desire to erect the Great Wall of the Rio Grande. But is Trump really so much worse than putative Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton that he warrants such an attack? It seems to me, no. If fact, if presidential politics were a high school yearbook, Clinton would be a shoe in to win the coveted most-likely-to-be-indicted award. There hasn’t been more guilty looking public figure than Hillary Clinton since, well, Bill Clinton. But CNBC didn’t see fit to run a hit piece titled Why Clinton can’t be president. No, they reserved that honor for Trump.

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Antichrist on the Border, Part 2

Posted in Economics, Immigration, Politics, Roman Catholicism, tagged , , , on February 21, 2016| Leave a Comment »

 

Pope Francis_Juarez

Pope Francis speaks at the Bachilleres College in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on February 17, 2016. Background image is Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Gabriel Bouys, AFP

 

 

“The Romanists have very cleverly built three wall around themselves,” observed Martin Luther in his treatise To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation. “Hitherto,” he continues, “they have protected themselves by these walls in such a way that no one has been able to reform them. As a result, the whole of Christendom has fallen abominably.

In the first place, when pressed by the temporal powers they have made decrees and declared that the temporal power had no jurisdiction over them, but that on the contrary, the spiritual power is above the temporal. In the second place, when the attempt is made to reprove them with the Scriptures, they raise the objection that only the pope may interpret the Scriptures. In the third place, if threatened with a council, their story is that no one may summon a council but the pope.”

In this way they have cunningly stolen our three rods from us, that they may go unpunished. They have ensconced themselves within the safe stronghold of these three walls so that they can practice all the knavery and wickedness which we see today.” Thus Luther.

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Green Statists on the March

Posted in Economics, Politics, tagged , , , on February 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Obama

“Obama to propose $10-per-barrell fee on oil,” blared the CNBC headline. Surprise, surprise. Obama wants a new tax. The Obama administration claims the funds generated by this proposed energy tax will be used to fund clean transportation research, high-speed railways, autonomous cars and other such like. (Sigh)… Can Obama just leave office already? The economy is teetering on the brink of a recession, and possibly something much worse, and all the president can think to do is gin up more government spending. I guess Nixon was right, we really are all Keynesians now.

It’s fascinating how statists such as Obama try to portray themselves as of the people, by the people, and for the people, but in reality they are anything but. In truth, he is more like of the statists, by the statists and for the statists. There is nothing that he does that is not all about growing government. And that’s what gives the lie to this and to his other proposals. But government is the problem, not the solution. Growing the state does not make us better off. It’s a drain on our wealth. More power in Washington means less freedom for Americans. And yet, almost like a cuckoo clock, out pops Obama to to announce yet another government spending initiative.

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