Powerful words from Charles Colson

I just finished reading an old book by Charles Colson called Who Speaks for God? Like other books by Colson, it has lots of good thoughts. Here are some.

1. Blessed by unprecedented affluence, Americans concluded there must be more to life than material prosperity, but were beguiled into believing the answers they craved could be found by looking deep enough within. . . The search for fulfillment through self-discovery has always been doomed from the beginning. First, because the human heart is deceitful, impenetrable. Second, what if we do succeed in seeing ourselves for what we are? We come face-to-face with the evil within, caught in the most deadly predicament of all: the discovery we are trapped by our guilt, with no way to find forgiveness. Third, a bi-product of searching for meaning within the four walls of self is this – the search inevitably excludes the community of which we are a part. . .  The root issue is that secular humanism by definition recognizes only a godless universe, one limited to the temporal realm of human existence. Since nothing above the human scope exists, one must find ultimate truth in self and human reason . . . I find that God has a sovereign plan for our lives which we discover, not in seeking ourselves, but in seeking his will. . .This is why Christ tells us we must lose our life for his sake in order to find it. We discover meaning and purpose not in the search for self, but in surrender of self, in obedience to Christ. In right relationship with our Creator, knowing we belong to him, we pour ourselves out in service to others.

2. (When asked what should be the lessons of Watergate) If man is corrupt and Christ's redeeming power is the only rescue, then we as a nation and as individuals will never be saved by intrinsically sinful human governments. Watergate should make us skeptical – but not with a cynicism that scoffs at all authority. No, I speak of a different skepticism. It is based on a healthy realism about man and his institutions – and the solid assurance of God's grace.

3. (From an article on Christmas) We sing in one of our Christmas carols, "O come let us adore him . . .Christ the Lord." Down through the centuries the Christian assertion by word and deed that Christ is Lord has been the chief cause of hostility to the gospel. Today that resistance is not less, simply more subtle; secular society seeks to reduce Christianity to a private affair, thus neutralizing it completely.… The greatest challenge facing the church today is to reassert the Lordship of Christ. The Scriptures make clear the totality of Christ's claims upon us. If we really understand what being Christian means – that this Christ, the living God, actually comes in to rule one's life – then everything must change: values, goals, priorities, desires, and habits. If Christ's Lordship does not disrupt our own lordship, then the reality of our conversion must be questioned.

More cheery news about California

So, let's continue Richard Rider's  statistical look at California under the control of the lefties in Sacramento. I'm going to put these in one humongous paragraph. It's overwhelming, but so are the results.

Our state's 2013 “business tax climate” ranks 3rd worst in the nation – behind New Jersey and (no surprise here) New York state, according to taxfoundation.org. The American Tort Reform Association now ranks CA the “worst judicial hellhole” in U.S. – extremely anti-business. But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranks CA higher – “only” the 4th worst state (unfortunately, sliding from 7th worst in 2008). How's that for progress? In addition, CA tickets are incredibly high. Red-light camera ticket $490. Next highest state is $250. Most are around $100. Our state  needlessly licenses more occupations than any state – 177. Second worst state is Connecticut at 155. The average for the states is 92.CA has the 3rd highest state workers compensation rates, up from 5th in 2010. Tax Foundation study ranks CA as the 4th worst taxed state. But if counting ONLY in-state and local taxes, we are arguably the 2nd highest. Then there's unemployment. California has the 5th worst state unemployment rate (August, 2013) – 8.9%. National unemployment rate 7.3%. National unemployment rate not including CA is 7.1%, making the CA unemployment rate 25.7% higher than the average of the other 49 states (one of the better performances we’ve managed in several years). How are we doing with education? CA public school teachers the 4th highest paid in the nation. CA students rank 48th in math achievement, 49th in reading.

OK, that's enough depressing news for now. The Golden State indeed.

California's taxes

Richard Rider is the chairman of San Diego Tax Fighters. Take a look at some of his stats when it comes to California taxes. This is the Golden State?? It's sad what happens when liberal Democrats run a state government.

Consider personal income taxes in our state.   Prior to Prop 30 passing in Nov. 2012, California  already had the 3rd worst state income tax rate in the nation. Our 9.3% tax bracket started at $48,942 for people filing as individuals. But now California has by far the nation’s highest state income tax rate. We are 21% higher than 2nd place Hawaii, 34% higher than Oregon, 47.8% higher than the next 2 states.

What about other taxes? Are you surprised to see that California has the highest state sales tax rate in the nation? It's 7.5% (does not include local sales taxes). We also have the nation’s highest gas tax at 71.9 cents/gallon (July, 2013). National average is 49.5 cents. Then there's something called  impact fees on home sales.  Average 2012 CA impact fee for single-family residence was $31,100, 90% higher than next worst state. It's 265% higher than jurisdictions that levy such fees (many governments east of the Sierras do not). For apartments, fee averaged $18,800, 290% above average outside state. The fee is part of the purchase price, so buyer pays an annual property tax on the fee!

But this is only the beginning. California  has now instituted the highest “cap and trade” tax in the nation – indeed, the ONLY such U.S. tax. One study estimates the annual cost at $3,857 per household by 2020. Even proponents concede that it will have zero impact on global warming.
And don't get me started on the con game of global warming. California also has a nasty anti-small business $800 minimum corporate income tax, even if no profit is earned, and even for many nonprofits. Next highest state is Oregon at $150. A few others under $100, with most at zero. California small businesses failed in 2011 at a rate 69% higher than the national average — the worst state in the nation. Our corporate income tax rate (8.84%) is the highest west of the Mississippi (our economic competitors) except for Alaska.

There are many more stats, but these give a flavor of what Dems love to do--solve all problems with more money. But, of course, the problems remain. What to do? Oh yeah, raise more taxes.

More on the Tea Party

Let me continue with the article I was reviewing last time about the Tea Party phenomena in American politics.

So, who makes up this Tea Party and what do they believe? The author refers to a couple of  surveys by the New York Times  and the Public Religion Research Institute. They find tea-party supporters espouse an ensemble of conservative beliefs with special intensity. Fifty-eight percent think that minorities get too much attention from government, and 65% view immigrants as a burden on the country. Most of the respondents see President Obama as someone who doesn't understand them and doesn't share their values. In their eyes, he's an extreme liberal whose policies consistently favor the poor. In fact, 92% believe that he is moving the country toward socialism. Although some tea-party supporters are libertarian, most are not. The Public Religion Research Institute found that fully 47% regard themselves as members of the Christian right, and 55% believe that America is a Christian nation today—not just in the past. On hot-button social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, tea partiers are aligned with social conservatives. Seventy-one percent of tea-party supporters regard themselves as conservatives.

A lot of liberals turn their noses up at the Tea Party people, assuming they must be a bunch of uneducated bumpkins. Not so. The New York Times survey found the opposite. Only 26% of tea-party supporters regard themselves as working class, versus 34% of the general population; 50% identify as middle class (versus 40% nationally); and 15% consider themselves upper-middle class (versus 10% nationally). Twenty-three percent are college graduates, and an additional 14% have postgraduate training, versus 15% and 10%, respectively, for the overall population. Conversely, only 29% of tea-party supporters have just a high-school education or less, versus 47% for all adults.

The survey also reveals something interesting—these Tea Party people are not an outside force trying to impose foreign values on the Republican Party. Fully 76% of its supporters either identify with or lean toward the Republican Party. Rather, they are a dissident reform movement within the party, determined to move it back toward true conservatism after what they see as the apostasies of the Bush years and the outrages of the Obama administration.

Many tea-party supporters are small businessmen. They view  taxes and regulations as direct threats to their livelihood. Unlike establishment Republicans who see potential gains from government programs such as infrastructure funding, these tea partiers regard most government spending as a deadweight loss. Because many of them run low-wage businesses on narrow margins, they believe that they have no choice but to fight measures, such as ObamaCare, that reduce their flexibility and raise their costs—measures to which large corporations with deeper pockets can adjust. So, strangely enough, we see many large corporations pushing the Obama agenda.

It's no coincidence that the strengthening influence of the Tea Party is driving a wedge between corporate America and the Republican Party. The author believes it will be difficult for the U.S. to govern itself unless corporate America pushes the Republican establishment to fight back against the tea party—or switches sides.

So, the battle continues in the Republican Party. I like the fervor of the Tea Party since the G.O.P. has for too long turned into a debating society only interested in getting along. We’ll see in the 2014 elections where the Republicans are headed. It should be fascinating.

The tea party and its beliefs

I read an interesting article called “The Tea Party and the GOP Crackup” by William Galston. His key point is that the current debate in the Republican party between moderates and tea party individuals is nothing new in American history.

He says there is a "Jacksonian tradition" in American society. Jacksonians believe strongly in self-reliance, individualism, loyalty and courage. They are passionate defenders of the Second Amendment. They are suspicious of federal power, skeptical about do-gooding at home and abroad; they oppose federal taxes but favor benefits such as Social Security and Medicare that they regard as earned. Jacksonians are anti-elitist; they believe that the political and moral instincts of ordinary people are usually wiser than those of the experts and that although problems are complicated, solutions are simple.

In short, the tea party harkens back to an earlier period in America.

It is Jacksonian America, aroused, angry and above all fearful, in full revolt against a new elite—backed by the new American demography—that threatens its interests and scorns its values.

He claims there are surveys that back this up. Supporters of the tea party see President Obama as anti-Christian, and the president's expansive use of executive authority evokes charges of "tyranny." Mr. Obama, they believe, is pursuing a conscious strategy of building political support by increasing Americans' dependence on government. A vast expansion of food stamps and disability programs and the push for immigration reform are key steps down that road.

But it’s ObamaCare  issues  that highlight the discomfort tea party people feel the most about the current situation. Unless the law is defunded, tea party individuals believe the land of limited government, individual liberty and personal responsibility will be gone forever, and the new America, dominated by dependent minorities who assert their "rights" without accepting their responsibilities, will have no place for people like them.

There’s more to the article, but I’ll hold that for another blog. By the way, I’m in the camp of the tea party—I see the same things those people do.

Thoughts on pain, suffering, and death

My mom is almost 92 and in pain today. She has fallen three times in the last six months, resulting in a fractured pelvis and, most recently, a compressed vertebra. She is in a rehab facility facing a long, slow recovery. My wife and I are on our way to see her, so this is going to be a short blog today. The point of my comments has to do with Christianity and my mom.

She's a Christian who has had powerful things to say this week. Once, while in the emergency room, she said she wondered how anyone could face problems like she was and not be a Christian. Later she said she was ready "to go home," a reference to her death and future life with God and Jesus in heaven.

The problem of pain and suffering is supposed to be the number one reason many have rejected the idea of a good God, since they believe such a God would stop these things from happening. I don't want to launch into a vigorous defense for God at this point, although one can be made on several levels.

Instead, I would ask skeptics what they have accomplished if they reject the idea of God. What would they say to my mom? They haven't rid themselves of the problem of evil by doing away with the existence of God. Pain and suffering are still there. So, what would they say to Mom? I guess something like, "Gee, that's too bad" or "Well, at least you had a long life." But those aren't comforting words.

I think there are enough reasons to believe there is a God and to trust Him even during times like this when loved ones suffer. I'll take God and hope any day over dark denials of His existence.

Political correctness

I am preparing a talk on the ruination of our language due, in part, to political correctness. Here's part of what I want to say.

One way to improve job status is to use politically correct terms. Note the following examples.

Body guards are now referred to as executive protection specialists. Trash collectors are now labelled environmental technicians.

Think about these terms, which have been generated to avoid offending groups of people.

a.      people of size (old term--fat)

b.     chronologically gifted (old)

c.      alternatively schooled (uneducated)

d.     cerebrally challenged (dumb)

e.      client of the correctional system (prisoner)

f.      sobriety deprived (drunk)

g.     underhoused (homeless)

h.     at Stanford students are now given NP instead of F

i.       you may not use these terms in newspaper ads: ocean view, within walking distance, master bedroom (can you figure out why?)

Then there are the terms made up to make a political statement. I'll let you figure out who they are referring to.

a.      psychosocially deprived

b.     unable to conform his conduct to the law

c.      botanical companions

d.     stolen, nonhuman animal products

e.      member of the mutant, albino, genetic-recessive global minority

f.      pro-choice

g.     visual rape

h.     intergenerational intimacy

i.       pet guardian

j.       economically marginalized

k.     motivationally dispossessed

l.       sex-care providers

m.   person of non-color

n.     processed animal carcasses

o.     undocumented resident/workers

Are we hurt by such language bending? Maybe. I agree that there are some improvements in the words chosen recently. But do you see how many of these terms are used to express a political slant rather than simply tell the truth? Now we are using language to make us more comfortable with behavior we used to dislike. Ah, the world marches on.