Monday
Jul272009
More Irresponsible Behavior from Our Congress
Monday, July 27, 2009 at 11:15AM While speaking at the National Press Club luncheon, Democratic Congressman John Conyers(D-Mich.), who is also the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, mocks the need to read bills before voting on them, because it takes two lawyers to interpret them and more than two days to work through them! And this from the chair of the Judiciary Committee????
Since chairman Conyers will not be subject to the same health care reforms my family will be (the congress will retain all their current gold-package health care benefits regardless of what bill ultimately makes its way through congress), I guess there's no need for him to even know what is in the bill.
This is infuriating.
Reader Comments (108)
like most who speak higher of impatiently thwarting policies, etc..
From my postings, you can gather that I am against HR3200, the government's bill to take-over the US health care system; that I think trying to stop a plan to burn down a building is a good thing, that I think it is good to ask God to thwart evil, that I think Christians should be about doing good works.
Communicating via email leaves room for misunderstandings and misinterpretations. I really think that is the case here.
So is HR3200 an example of an evil you'd want God to thwart? If not, what would be? And, whatever your example might be, didn't God already thwart evil at the cross? That's what 'It is finished" seems to mean.
In the 1950's, the average family spent only about 2% on taxes. Now, with federal, state, local; hidden and visable taxes, the average family spends 50% of all of their income on taxes! One spouse works full time just to pay for all of the taxes. (This from the Libertarian website.)
When you see all of those people at the tea parties accross our country, you can't help but wonder how many people would switch to the Libertarian Party if they would only check out the LP website.
I believe that with the way that our country is heading, in time, you will see many citizens joining this party. I think that it is great, that they want to do away with the IRS, and welfare. No more government bail outs of poorly performing companies. The government would be forced into having a balanced budget -- by cutting programs, not by raising taxes.
Even their position on abortion makes sense -- the government should stay out of it.
When you look at the common sense of their platform, it would be hard to believe that their candidates wouldn't be a far better option than those of the two other parties are.
Oh, by the way, this party is certain to appeal to all gun carrying Christians, as they believe in the rights of gun owners. They don't believe that the government has the right to even force us to register our guns!
I'm sorry that I misspelled your name in my post.
Do you see any irony in your phrase "gun carrying Christians". You may be both a christian and also a gun lover, but I just can't picture one being a "gun carrying christian". Perhaps you can start marketing bracelets with WGWJO on them- What gun would Jesus own?
BTW once you have disbanded the IRS and balanced the budget, the gov't will have to disband the military, air traffic controllers, border patrols, national security establishment and all of those inconvenient government intrusions in your life. I sure life will be better then!
Pat T.,
You seem to conflate policies you disagree with (perhaps with good reason) with the concept of evil. There is much that is evil and there is much I disagree with. But they are not necessarily the same thing.
Health reform may be stupid policy, but I am not sure it is evil, as I understand that word.
If you want to see gun carrying Christians, come to Arizona.
Also, I sell all lines of insurance. I really believe that if you want to try to fix the healthcare mess, we should deregulate the industry, open it up for more insurance companies to compete, which will drive down the prices.
I, for one, am getting the feeling that I am looking in my mirror while driving, and the government is following me around. The government is flat out sticking their noses in areas where it shouldn't be in. We need to get back to the principals that made our country great -- and soon, or we can kiss our freedom goodbye.
Your comments in your last paragraph indicate that you are not open to any intelligent change (although I know that you are very intelligent), and that you are happy with the way that things are going in our country. Your comments are not very well thought out.
For me, it is kingdom of man; Libertarian. Kingdom of God; Lutheran.
Fun stuff!
3rd. paragraph should read principles not principals.
How much can a government 'manage' the lives of the people it governs before it crosses the line into tyranny?
Tyranny, I do believe, is evil.
Does that make the steps to tyranny also evil or stupid?
Zrim - Yes, God defeated evil at the cross. The work of Christ for our salvation from the wrath of God is finished.
Why do Libertarians always sound so equally doomsy about the present and glossy about what their party can do as everybody else? As a Reformed Christian secularist, I wonder if the LP use a good shot of Calvinism and a heavy round of amillinarianism. If nothing else, it helps one's driving skills (less need to look in the rear view mirror).
Re tyranny, recall Jesus' teaching in Mark 12. Caesar probably meets the typical American's definition of tyrant, yet Jesus said to render to him his due, not pray for his thwarting. So why would that be less true for leaders who don't think of themselves as deity and a have better grasp on western polity than Nero, Herod or Caesar? In other words, if Caesar isn't to be thwarted but obeyed, why are you so hard on Obama?
Re the work of the cross, if Jesus defeated evil there why do you seem so worried about it now? Could it be that your ideology is getting in the way of your good confession?
I agree with your statement that the LP's always sound so equally doomsy about the present. (All the parties do when they are not in office.) And they are glossy about what their particular parties will do if they are elected. This is the only way that they will get votes.
The Obama administration is now going to start putting extra taxes on fatty foods. Why? This is just another attempt at behavior control. This particular government is doing certain things as a camouflage to control people's behavior.
Yesterday, I caught the tail end of a report that said that the governmnet wants to have a right to get into our houses so that they can see how we are raising our children. This is only 6 months after Obama has been elected. Where will we be in 3 1/2 more years?
This morning, I was talking to a friend of mine, a self proclaimed atheist (although St. Paul, in Romans 1 says that there is no such a person)democrat, and he said that he doesn't feel that socialism is a bad thing.
Half of our pay, is going for taxes. We are quickly losing our liberties. It won't be long, and the government will be in our churches telling us what we can and cannot preach. (Thanks to the meddling groups like the Southern Baptists and many of the non-denominationalists -- many times the same thing, which are pushing for school prayer and the 10 commandments at city hall as they are confusing the two kingdoms.)
As I look at the different parties, it just seems like the LP party makes the most sense. However, I used to have a boss years ago, when I would recommend a change, he would quip, "That makes way to much sense Lloyd, they just won't do it."
Your comment on my driving was pretty hilarious!
I agree with you and our Lord, render to Caesar what is Caesars', but 50 %?
Pat T:
Why do evil things still happen if God is in control? Evil is one of the great mysteries, but here are a few possibilities, of course there are many other reasons which only God knows, which would be in His secret, eternal decrees: 1. There is a greater good in allowing evil things to happen, than if God had prevented the evil things from happening. 2. God can reveal His communicable and incommunicable attributes. 3. God can exercise His great plan of redemption, but before God can exercise His great plan of redemption, man has to be redeemed from something, and that redemption is from his sin.
God releases His grace and goodness from the person, thus allowing the person to commit the evil acts according to his nature. God does not provide the means for reprobation, He only provides the means for salvation! (I know that my Reformed friends would love this kind of an answer!)
God has indeed, blessed me with too much time on my hands!
Actually I am not thrilled at all with Obama. But I don't view his presidency as the end of the world as we know it. Mistaken policy does not equal societal collapse, jack-booted gov't thugs on the streets or cosmological evil. (BTW I felt like I needed to look in my rear view mirror much more with W /Cheney in office.)
In so far as the LP and what would happen if they ever won, I think the Who had it right: "here comes the new boss, same as the old boss."
Zrim,
Amen to all you said.
I meant to say that God "withholds", not releases, His grace and goodness from the person. It is important to word it correctly, or it could be bad theology.
Like Reg, I can't say that I'm "thrilled" either. But I think that owes to the points I made earlier about having low expectations in the first place, not because of higher taxes on my butter. That, plus my Calvinist-amil views lead me to be thrilled about much of anything and I take my inspiration from what most westerners consider a book of straw: Ecclesiastes.
Also, as Reg rightly suggests, I just fail to understand why bad or disagreeable policy, etc. should foster a sort of chicken-little disposition (forgive me if that comes across too harsh). This cuts both ways. Recall all the suggestions that the previous admininstration was on the brink of ushering in a sort of facism, etc. That was code for "I hate Dubya's policies." That's fine, but what gives with the idea that instilling fear and loathing is necessary?
I love the Who. If the Libertarians stick with the issues as defined in their platform, there is no way that it would be "here comes the new boss, same as the old boss."
The old boss is getting bigger and fatter by the minute, and he is trying to sit on us!!! The "new boss" wants to run the country the way the constitution was intended.
Really, I'm just concerned that we are deteriorating as a nation to the point of no return. In the kingdom of man, regarding the United States, we are heading into a real tragic ending. The people have to wake up, before it is too late.
The way that our liberties are evaporating, do we really want to have our churches under ground in order to avoid persecution? We must not just shrug our shoulders and say, "Oh well, same old stuff."
If this happens, it is God's will. But we are called to do our best for our country while we are wearing our hats in the kindom of man.
In Arizona, it is not nearly as bad. But, with an "Oh well" attitude, it is coming! Please remember the words of the Obama administration, that if you are a Christian, want to own a gun, or are for pro life, you are a terrorist.
The government has NO RIGHT MEDDLING IN RELIGIOUS, GUN OR OBORTION ISSUES. THEY HAVE NO RIGHT RUNNING OUR HEALTHCARE, OUR BANKS, INSURANCE COMPANIES, AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRIES, ETC., ETC., ETC., AND ON, AND ON, AND ON IT GOES!
See it. Touch it. Smell it. As Caesar seeks to smother you and trample you under his feet, as you say, "Oh well, same old boss."
We have to make it happen, not LET IT HAPPEN TO US! We are called to care for our country while wearing our hats in the kingdom of man! My children and your children deserve to have the freedom that we have enjoyed. We don't want to leave them with the dilemma of having to pay 75% of all of their income for taxes to support Caesar, as he is gorging and stuffing himself and getting fatter by the minute, as we shrug our shoulders and say, "well the new boss, will be just like the old boss."
And that 'we the people' need to wake up, pay attention, get informed, and do something to salvage our freedoms.
Zrim and Reg
I am signing off...
First, I was impressed with Alberto's comment: "I would just like to point out that we can say that two or more parties are bad, but to equate them as being equally bad seems like a lack of serious thinking, or at best, an attempt to avoid a disputation or argument (there are other possibilities). I understand how someone like me would not want to be affiliated with any party, but I regard the equating of political parties as being a ridiculous idea."
Thank you, Alberto. Well said! Two kingdoms types certainly make great points sometimes, but they often misstep along the lines you bring out so well.
To Zrim's comment below, I want to respond. Here is his comment: "Re tyranny, recall Jesus' teaching in Mark 12. Caesar probably meets the typical American's definition of tyrant, yet Jesus said to render to him his due, not pray for his thwarting. So why would that be less true for leaders who don't think of themselves as deity and a have better grasp on western polity than Nero, Herod or Caesar? In other words, if Caesar isn't to be thwarted but obeyed, why are you so hard on Obama?"
While Jesus did not advocate taking up arms against the Romans (he was not a Zealot), this does not mean he approved of their tyranny. Jesus also never told his people that they could not pray that wicked leaders be thwarted in their evil plans. The psalmists often pray for the overthrow of the wicked, and Jesus' prayer, "Your kingdom come," is a prayer that includes the judgment of the wicked. It seems likely that the early church rightly viewed Herod's death recorded in Acts as a judgment of God, and as an answer to prayer (cf. Acts 12:6, 23).
I am all for rendering respect to President Obama, (God forgive me for my calling him a nincompoop a few times), but just because we give honor to a leader doesn't mean we can't oppose his policies. One major difference between our situation and the apostle Paul that people don't factor in is this: our duty as American citizens differs greatly from the duties of Roman citizens. American citizens have a much more active role in their government than did Roman citizens.
My point is that the Psalmist's prayer was fulfilled at Calvary. And a more careful reading of my comments would see that I have no problem with opposing policies, rather with mistaking disagreement with being on the right or wrong side of righteousness.
Re Paul, Roman and American citizenship, are you suggesting that Paul is somewhat irrelevant to contemporary readers? True, our time and place is quite different from his (even as ours is based in Roman-Greco outlooks), but I have a hard time with your implication that those differences render Paul relatively out of touch. Mark 12 is about authority and submission. If we’re being honest, these are not themes Americans naturally abide. Our very existence is the result of rebellion. We are nurtured on the virtues of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, warnings to “not tread on me” and entreats to bestow liberty or (gulp) death. We have a polity that invites, encourages, even rewards, dissent andf rebellion. If the hearers of Jesus can gasp at his rendering instruction in light of obvious problems, is it really such a stretch to suggest that, despite popular sentiment to the contrary, American polity is more antithetical than encouraging to Christian piety? It could be that it isn’t quite as safe and happy to be an American Christian as sermons on Memorial Day and platitudes on July 4 might think. It might be that what we presume as a blessing is closer to what it means to struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil.