O-well.

Little political diversion, for a moment.

I just finished taking down the Huckabee poster that was on my bulletin board... Yes, I was in denial. Anyway, almost immediately thereafter a friend forwarded this to me and asked if I'd hop on the Obama-bandwagon.

Just to be clear, I think Senator Obama is an amazing, charisma-rich (charismatic has a dif'rnt meaning on this blog) candidate and may well be the best political communicator we've seen since Reagan...

Nonetheless, I'll pass on the bandwagon. I can't really stomach the Senator's economic policy, and definitely won't support his social/moral platform even with a gun to my head. So, go on without me... I guess I'll catch a different train.

A Non-WWWednesday post????

These days, it must be something pretty cool to warrant a non-WWWednesday post from me... Yeah, sorry about that. Nonetheless, there are two things you should know about. And I am the man appointed to tell you, it seems.

1) Sovereign Grace Ministries has made me extremely happy by making audio downloads of all their 'lesson material' (conference sessions, workshops, etc) totally free.

This is so cool even the Desiring God guys are throwing out propers. Anyway, go here, download a ton of stuff, and be edified.

2) Ben Stein, dressed as Angus Young, talking about the closing of the American mind?* WHOOO HOO! Come on, February! Click the image for the trailer.

*By the way, if you haven't read Bloom's landmark The Closing of the American Mind, repent and borrow it from your library. I can assure you it will not be checked out. This book completely changed my worldview in 1993 when I read it.

Not Worthless

A few days ago, I linked to an Al Mohler post on the moral quandry that science is causing for the pro-abortion folks. Specifically, the article dealt with the fact that there really is no reason that someone shouldn't be able to abort a baby simply on the basis of gender, eye color, or some other trait.

Now today, Mohler has written another absolutely fantastic article called "The Revenge of Conscience". Take a minute and read the full article. Then, let's all try to go out and make difference. Ok?

Sober Monday, indeed...

The following is taken from this sermon delivered by John Piper on January 26, 2003 (emphasis mine):

When the editors at the Minneapolis StarTribune this past Wednesday celebrated the abortion rights decreed by Roe v. Wade ... they raised the question when "incipient life becomes ‘protectably human,’" and said that no better answer has been given than Justice Harry Blackmun’s when he wrote:

We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate.

What’s the flaw here? The flaw is that, while claiming to withhold judgment, the judiciary not only speculated but authoritatively decreed on the issue: namely, it is not murder or manslaughter to destroy the unborn. That is not a suspension of judgment. That is a decisive judgment: namely, in the womb there is nothing worth protecting by law. To portray this as a sensitive suspension of judgment about the status of unborn life is false and deceptive.

How do you get from, "We do not know whether this is protectable human life," to "Therefore, we will not protect it"? Wouldn’t the logic just as likely (some would say far more likely) be, "Since we do not know whether this is protectable human life, therefore we will protect it." Why does the judicial uncertainty about the humanity of the unborn lead to unbridled license to destroy it?

... Abortion is one of the darkest works of the human race – it is child sacrifice. And the only way it can survive is for darkness to survive. Wherever the light of truth and love comes, darkness flies away. Therefore it is one of the great callings of the followers of Jesus to let their light shine in both ways: to do good deeds and to expose darkness. The aim is partly negative: reveal the error hidden in the darkness, but mainly positive: to bring people to love the light and be made light in the Lord Jesus.

May we answer that call... For more information, visit informative and stark Abort73.com website.

Leaning further to the right

Many of my earliest, clear memories come from right around 1980 - particularly the '80 election race. I recall listening to Ronald Reagan as he was stumping here and there through the year. Something about him was just riveting to me... I can remember that my (paternal) Grandmom - an ol' dyed-in-the-wool southern democrat - was almost apoplectic that Carter would be handing over the nuclear keys to Reagan.

By the time the mid-80s rolled around, I was old enough to start actually thinking about things. Even before Family Ties hit the air, I was carrying a briefcase to school and trumpeting the supposed merits of 'trickle-down economics'. So, you see that my overwhelming nerdiness has been a long-standing thing.

As I started to form my own opinions, I found I agreed with Reagan and liked him. I owe a lot to my parents who happily played Plato's Advocate with me over countless dinner table discussions. I wonder if it scared them to watch their happy child morph, little by little, into a Right Wing Loony Tune? (As an aside: It's interesting that, to this day, I know little about how my father thinks or how he votes. He talks capably on both sides of almost every issue.)

Fast-forward to today: Am I still proud to call myself a Republican? I can't say that I am. When I voted for Bush in 2000, I was voting for education reform, the development of a viable domestic energy policy, social security (and other entitlement) reform, and preservation of traditional morality especially in re: issues like abortion/gay marriage.

In 2004, I was much more cynical. I voted for Bush because Kerry was a terrible candidate who lacked even a shred of integrity, the election was going to be close, and because I figured we'd at least get a couple conservative Supreme Court Justices out of the deal. Well, Roberts and Alito don't really cut it for me... And Harriet Miers? What the heck was that!?!? I feel like the victim of a good ol' bait-n-switch manuver. Every issue that was important to me has either been left unaddressed or solved with a hammer and duct tape solution... And these weren't obscure side issues in the elections, either.

So, I believe my principles are correct... And though the Republican party has a right-wingish platform its heart seems to be decidedly in the center. For me, personally, the center is somewhere I can't really follow. Well, what's a fellow to do?

This will probably be the year I actually vote for a third-party candidate. And if I do, the odds are pretty strong that I'll be voting for the Constitutional Party candidate... That is not a choice without some challenges...

• First of all, I find a fair amount of their foreign policy platform to be over the top. I'm all for a significant lessening of our role abroad, but I don't think we can be quite as isolated as these people seem to believe.
  
• I personally think there needs to be major Social Security reform... That said, I think the CATO Institutes 6.2% Solution is the best option out there. I'm not sure it goes far enough for it to fit in the CP's platform statement.
• While I don't like the idea of a draft, I think it is an 'option of last resort' that needs to be kept on the table. As such, the CP's position on conscription is a little more than I can handle.

Still, I'm fairly close to these guys all around. Since I'm in Vermont, this really isn't anything I need to rush to figure out. There's not a chance of any of the mid-term elections swinging towards anyone near conservative enough for me.

Interesting Vermont anecdote that I just stumbled across: In 2004, Cris Ericson ran for Governor of our happy state representing the Marijuana Party. Her campaign imagery was something to behold, as you can see to the left. Now it seems that she's cleaned up (imagery) and intends on running as a Republican for Senate. I find this highly amusing... Same platform, different look/party.

What's even more frightening is that probably a number of uninformed Republicans will see her party affiliation on election day and throw a vote her way. *sigh* Ok... Enough of this stuff.

We're getting ready for a small getaway this coming weekend. Before we disappear, I'll get the review of The Joshua Generation up for everyone's edification. From there, we'll dive into the Bible next week - starting with Deuteronomy 22:13-endish.

Lean to the right. Good, now lean further...

I'm a fairly conservative person in my moral and political thoughts.

**That hacking sound you hear is people who actually know me choking on their coffee because of the use of the word 'fairly'.

Ok, ok. The truth is that I'm a full member of the 'Vast, Card-Carrying, Right-Wing, Religious Nutjob Conspiracy' league. If people awarded merit badges for conservatism, the only one I'd be missing is the 'Concealed Carry Permit'. I have fired fully-automatic firearms behind some redneck's farm a few times... I just never filled out the form.

It's a midterm election year and my wife is probably thrilled that there's been so much other stuff going on in our lives right now. Otherwise, I'd have started my typical over-obsessive analysis of all things political months ago. As it is, I'm behind - so it's time to start catching up!

Every election year I direct a handful of people to the World's Smallest Political Quiz and try (mostly unsuccessfully) to get them to share their results. I don't want to argue - I'm just interested in where other people lie. You can see my result to the right.

Given a couple shifts in my mood I'm either as Conservative as you get or I'm a fringy Libertarian. Anyone care to share their leanings with me? Leave a comment.

Where is this political rambling going, you ask? First, consider this a long preface to a post on my growing dissatisfaction with the Republican Party and mainstream conservatism in general.

Second, I just wanted to tell people that I saw Bernie Sanders this past weekend. If you're outside of New England politics, you may not know the lofty and venerable Bernie. Congressman Sanders has served as the Representative for the State of Vermont since '91. He ran as an Independent, I presume because the word 'Socialist' still had enough negative connotations that it would ensure failure in an election. Then again, this is Vermont we're talking about...

Anyway, let's just say I can find about two things Bernie and I would agree on. One is the importance of regular breathing - both in and out. However, even when we agree we find ourselves in strict opposition over the reason why something should be a certain way.

Seeing him walking in the Windsor Heritage Days parade was enough to shock me back to reality that this is an even-numbered year. It also made my eyes water and caused an odd hissing, frothing fit according to those seated next to me.