Modern know-it-alls fear conservative Christians

The dictionary defines terrorism as, “the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.” Often we see the use of terrorism or terroristic threats used against a group of people by other groups of people. We have become familiar with wars taking place around the world where people are persecuted and brutalized. We know of forced famines, where people are starved to death because they are of a different culture, race, or ethnic group. The headlines have told of the plots of organizations like, al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Taliban, drug cartels and organized criminal elements. We know of gang warfare, and the news is filled with the rampage of the mobs in England. We tremble to think what the world would be like with no rule of law or defense allowed against terrorism as it is permitted to unleash an attack upon innocent people. We mourn with those who are victims of domestic violence. We have laws to protect the innocent and those who are unable to take care of themselves. We have law enforcement agencies to assist when homes are invaded or assaults are carried out against people or property. As we move closer to the tenth anniversary of the heinous attack upon our nation when the planes flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001, many are calling to memory where they were on that early fall morning. We recoil to think what it must be like to be kept in a cage and forced into sexual servitude at the hands of a sex trafficker. We see the ways people have devised to take advantage of the poor and the acts of injustice that are carried out against the poor and disadvantaged in our nation and throughout the world. We know stories of people who have been forced into drug addiction to be used as property rather than being recognized with dignity as a fellow human being. We try to fathom the mindset that seeks to harm others just for ones personal perverted pleasure. We see the innocent faces of children who have been killed by their parents. We read stories of family members who turn with uncontrolled violence upon other family members. In all of the unthinkable acts of rage and violence that are replayed in the media, we can’t help but wonder if we have become hardened to the reality of what it is like to be terrorized by someone or something else. Have we become such a calloused culture that we no longer are disturbed by the injustice and violence that interrupts our lives? Someone has suggested that we have developed a culture of raunchiness where we are no longer shocked by whatever might cross our path.

With the raucous lifestyles of some groups and the lack of concern for each other in our culture, it is easy to turn upon those who seek to stand upon principle. The elite-academic-class yuk it up when they hear someone stand upon principle for freedom, family, and faith values. The high minded group of editorial writers in the liberal media enjoys tagging groups of people who stand upon conservative values and principles of life. There was a time when the word “cancer” was a feared and hated word. In today’s calloused world, “conservative” and “Christian” are the two words that invoke the most negative response from people who believe they have advanced beyond those two outdated concepts. The New York Times immediately jumped to label the mass murderer in Norway as a “Christian Extremist,” when there is not one shred of evidence to link him to any church or group that could be labeled Christian.

These modern know-it-alls have developed a calloused attitude against any person or group who expresses different values than those on the left. It has become an easy thing for the liberal left to hurl charges of terrorist against even the gentlest patriots among us. Many have spoken as if they are horrified that a person who is serving in elective office would ever admit to praying to God for guidance and wisdom while making decisions. From where I stand to imply with a condescending attitude that because someone speaks up for freedom, faith, and family that they are a terrorist or worse that they might be a conservative Christian is an affront to all the patriots who have died to make this country free.

Ray Newman

There is a way out of this quagmire

The headline came across the news sources late last Friday night that an American helicopter had been shot down in Afghanistan. It would be Saturday morning when I would learn that the most deadly event in the ten year war in Afghanistan had claimed the lives of thirty-one United States troops. The majority of those who died were Navy SEALS. The Taliban claimed credit for the deadly rocket attack upon our troops. It was further reported that many of the special operations SEALS were those who had carried out the strike against Osama bin Laden. While we are hearing about scaling back the troop numbers and cutting defense spending in Iraq and Afghanistan in order to satisfy those who are insisting that we end the war by withdrawing without being victorious, the price we are going to pay is the loss of lives of our youngest, brightest and best in the military.

The news of the tragic deaths of the troops in this event added to our hopelessness following the fact that for the first time in our nation’s history our nation’s credit rating had been downgraded from AAA to AA+ by Standard and Poor’s. In a statement regarding the downgrading of our country’s credit standing, a spokesperson for S&P said that the long ballyhooed agreement reached between the three branches of our government in Washington could be described by saying that the “…plan falls short of what would be necessary to stabilize the government’s medium-term debt dynamics.” The reaction of the Treasury Secretary, Timothy Franz Geithner, was to say that the economist at Standard and Poor’s had made a math mistake. The Obama administration likes to remind us of all the terrible things they inherited from the Bush administration. One thing he was given by the Bush administration was a credit rating of AAA. Now, for the first time in our nation’s history, our credit rating has been downgraded and the only explanation the Treasury Secretary can come up with is bad math!

The only person left from the original group of financial advisors in the Obama Administration is Geithner. He has often been quoted in the media as having the answers to our financial crisis, none of which have worked. He made a promise several months ago that the credit standing of our country would not be downgraded. Yet, now it has been. We were promised employment would be on the upswing, yet unemployment is higher. We have been told that this administration is working on jobs and putting Americans back to work. That has not happened. The point is being made that the White House cannot create jobs. That is true. They can, however, get out of the way by letting up on regulations that will instill confidence once again, allowing for more people to be offered the opportunity to go back to work. Two words can be used to define what we have seen from the current administration from the first day they took office until now: overreaching and over regulation. We have watched daily as our nation has been pushed into a direction that we do not want to go by those who promised they would change the direction of our country.

It is not hard to know the next claim that will be presented to the American people to fix the economy. Higher taxes will be presented as the answer, and those who have stood against raising taxes will be called out as the ones that should shoulder the blame for the downgrading of our credit standing. That charge could not be more wrong.

The very obvious ideological concept of bigger government and nanny-state government as opposed to less government and personal responsibility is being seen at the highest level of our land. The overreaching and over regulation by this administration has thrust this nation into a deep hole out of which will take years and several generations to fill. The last thing we need to add to this sick economy is higher taxes with more government entitlements. We continue to punish the producers in our country. That is a failed system that has never worked and will not work now.

Now is the time to allow our military to fight the war they are trained to fight and win, and get government regulations off the backs of businesses and citizens. The end result would be to propel us out of this quagmire into renewed vigorous growth.

Ray Newman

The spending crisis is out of control

People my age will remember the television program that captured the attention of our nation years ago. The program was called the $64,000.00 question. The format consisted of a host asking questions of contestants and as questions were answered correctly there would be a higher level to attain and more money to be won. The show was exposed as a fraud and taken off the air. The American public seems to have always been enthralled with the winning of money and watching others hit the jackpot. The game shows in the height of network television gave prizes, products, or money to the contestants. With the expansion of cable and satellite programs available for viewing by the nation we have seen the introduction of “Reality Shows.” These programs, we are led to believe; show the real life, as-they-happen events in the lives of certain people or groups of people. The list is growing ever larger all the time with more people trying to get in on the money-making genre that feeds on the people’s voyeuristic habits. A few of the programs build on the aggressive spirit of people; Storage Wars and Parking Wars being two such programs where the viewers are treated to the aggressive struggles and rage of people as they bid for the contents of a storage unit or the special parking space in a large metropolitan area. We are allowed to look into the private lives of housewives, swamp people, and rock stars, with some of the shows that are currently claiming the attention of vast numbers of people every week. Some people have been overwhelmed by the brawling of the hit program of last season called Mob Wives. With all of the brawls, shouting, and pushing, we are allowed to see into the dysfunctional personalities of each of the characters in these shows. It remains to be seen where all of this interest in fake reality is going to finally take us.

There is a real life show playing out on the American stage, currently, that some in the media have called “Debt Wars.” The increase in the debt ceiling of our country has taken all of the oxygen from the news that should be surrounding the announced candidates for the upcoming presidential primaries. The American people have been used as pawns in this fight taking place in Washington that ultimately touches all of us in the pocket book. More than a debt war, we are seeing the ideological exchange of those who believe in bigger government with increased spending to bring us to a nanny state utopia that will control all aspects of the lives of the citizens as opposed to smaller government that allows for personal achievement and upward mobility. The personal ideological views of the players in this war have been clearly seen in the last several weeks. The credit rating of our nation is in the balance. The concept of smaller or bigger government is a choice being laid before our nation’s leaders. The reality that is coming into full view is that we have those in leadership who have staked out their position and refuse to see any other way to approach the subject of government spending. With all of the finger pointing and blame casting that has been in the media, the reality is that we are at a time when decisions must be made as to the future of our country. Those who argue for increased government spending and the enlargement of government would say that we have no other choice but to continue on the road on which we have been travelling. While that is being put forward as a position, there are those who believe the time has come to put a stop to the spending spree that has brought us to the brink of financial chaos. When we are currently borrowing forty cents of every dollar we spend, we must know there is a time when the money being borrowed will have to be repaid. Other people tell us that this path was determined many years ago and there is nothing we can do to stop this spending train from continuing down the track to financial ruin. The American Stock Exchange has reacted since the increase in the debt ceiling by tanking. The reality is that our country does not have a debt crisis, but a spending crisis that must be brought under control.

Ray Newman