It's a small world after all....and getting smaller!

The honeymoon will soon be over...

President Elect Barack Obama received a majority of the independant and moderate-right vote in this past election, which was a major factor in his election. This country is still a moderate-right country, no matter what this past Presidential election tells you. Barack Obama is without question, a shrewed and skilled politician...this past election proved that. He ran his campaign with skill, showing himself as a moderate when he had to, who would reach across the aisle. But he showed himself to be a liberal when needed. This is what captured him so many votes.

There is much to say about this past election, however I want to focus on the moderate-right Christian voters who voted for Obama (of which there are many at Cedarville). These people care about issues such as abortion, gay marriage, and other "moral" issues as well as caring for the needy in our society. Barack Obama, as stated before is a man that knows what to say to itching ears. He portrayed himself as a man that cared for the poor, displayed in the resurgence of the Social Gospel a movement that is not new to the Church but once again important due to the influence of the Emerging Church. This is known by those who study history and realize that there is "nothing new under the sun," which includes movements in the Church. I am not doubting his motives - just the way those concerns should be addressed, which is another discussion. He also portrayed himself as a man in the middle when it comes to abortion, which secured a lot of moderate Christian votes. His track record in Congress, however, does not back this claim.

Obama's record shows that he stands on the far left of the aisle and we can only hope that holds to his campaign pledge to meet in the middle. History tells us differently, however, that the track record of Presidents before entering office rarely changes when they enter the highest office in the land, let alone the world. And why do we expect it change? Honestly! A man's character, values, and convictions do not magically change when they enter the Oval Office. This is true for anyone! Why do we never look at past track records of candidates?

All this said, I beleive that Obama's "honeymoon" and popularity that he is experiencing now will quickly fade. Because of the fact that he appealed to a very wide base means that he cannot please everyone. If he governs from the left (particularly on moral issues) he will quickly loose the support of the moderate-right and possibly the moderates. If he governs from the middle, the left will be upset. He may still be popular near the end of his term, but it will not be like it is now. He hasn't done anything yet...he is President ELECT. We will have to see how he handles the office once sworn in. He will have a delicate balance to maintain - a delicate balance that he created.

FOCA

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is a bill that has been promised to be signed by our new President Elect Barack Obama. Here are the details and implications of the bill if passed.

A government may not

(1) deny or interfere with a woman’s right to choose –

(A) to bear a child;
(B) to terminate a pregnancy prior to viability; or
(C) to terminate a pregnancy after viability where termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman; or

(2) discriminate against the exercise of the rights set forth in paragraph (1) in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information.

Section 6 adds:

This Act applies to every Federal, State, and local statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action enacted, adopted, or implemented before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.

The section highlighted above in bold italics means that FOCA, if passed, will accomplish two things:

1. it would invalidate all current and future statutes, ordinances, regulations, administrative orders, decisions, policies, or practices--at any level of government--that regulate or restrict abortion in any way;

2. it would mandate taxpayer funds to be used at the state and federal level for abortion services (not to do so would discriminate against the "rights" of abortion set forth in the bill).

Here are some of the state laws that would be invalidated:

All 50 states have abortion reporting requirements
46 states have conscience-protection laws for individual health-care providers
44 states have laws about parental notification
40 states have laws restricting late-term abortions
38 states have bans on partial-birth abortions
33 states have laws requiring counseling before an abortion
16 states have laws about having ultrasounds before an abortion

Google leads to Rome

The amazing durability of the F-15 Eagle

Only one more I promise

I think you can tell by now I like Caliendo...

More Caliendo....

Bar Stool Economics

This was posted over at Parchment and Pen and it is a very good simplification for the sake of understanding. My brother (http://thelawrencejournal.blogspot.com/) also posted it to his site before I posted it here. But more people need to better understand economics....so let's spread the knowledge around ;)

Source Unknown (if you wrote it, claim it).

Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. ‘Since you are all such good customers,’ he said, ‘I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.’ Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.

But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

‘I only got a dollar out of the $20,’declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,’ but he got $10!’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ exclaimed the fifth man. ‘I only saved a dollar, too.

It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I got’ ‘That’s true!!’ shouted the seventh man. ‘Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!’

‘Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. ‘We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!’

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Frank Caliendo...hilarious!