Posted by
peripheral on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 7:41:45 AM
From My Perspective - - -
Years ago, a talented and funny comedian – Red Buttons – would include
in his routine a character who would allow “Strange Things Are
Happening…” and then go into a litany of some unusual events. If he was
alive today, he would be inundated with material for his routine.
Indeed – Strange Things Are Happening! As an example of the “Strange
Things”, consider the Governmental Proposals for (a) A War Supplemental
Bill, and (b) the 2010 Budget. When the President was campaigning, he
made a great point of stating – “The day of earmarks is over!” Just a
casual reading would indicate that was a forceful and resolute
statement. Interestingly, the first stimulus bill that came along in
this administration contained hundreds of earmarks (more than a
thousand) – but – the President signed the Bill!
The War Supplemental Bill and the 2010 Budget are moving through
Congress. Do you think the representatives of the people have any
discipline or thrift as they review the Bills? Do you believe there is
any evidence of a concern to be frugal when the nation is borrowing
Trillions of Dollars so it can operate? Does anyone believe there is
either a concern or remedy for the addiction to earmarks and spending
in the present Congress? If you wish to be annoyed, frustrated and
angry – “Under increasing pressure to reveal earmarks and their
sponsors, the House Appropriations Committee made available a 76 page
list of home state budget projects added on to the Commerce, State,
Justice bill. You can look through it at appropriations.house.gov
where you can also see the lawmakers who sponsored each project….There
are almost 1,100 projects, which total approximately $368 million. And:
http://wsbradio.com/blogs/jamie_dupree/2009/06/let-the-earma rks-roll.html to see who is adding the earmarks to the Bills and how much they have requested.
Yesterday, Gallup released his latest Poll titled: “Conservatives Are
Single-Largest Ideological Group.” The findings state: “Thus far in
2009, 40% of Americans interviewed in national Gallup Poll surveys
describe their political views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and
21% as liberal. This represents a slight increase for conservatism in
the U.S. since 2008, returning it to a level last seen in 2004. The 21%
calling themselves liberal is in line with findings throughout this
decade, but is up from the 1990s. These annual figures are based on
multiple national Gallup surveys conducted each year, in some cases
encompassing more than 40,000 interviews. The 2009 data are based on 10
separate surveys conducted from January through May. Thus, the margins
of error around each year's figures are quite small, and changes of
only two percentage points are statistically significant. To measure
political ideology, Gallup asks Americans to say whether their
political views are very conservative, conservative, moderate, liberal,
or very liberal. As has been the case each year since 1992, very few
Americans define themselves at the extremes of the political spectrum.
Just 9% call themselves "very conservative" and 5% "very liberal." The
vast majority of self-described liberals and conservatives identify
with the unmodified form of their chosen label… There is an important
distinction in the respective ideological compositions of the
Republican and Democratic Parties. While a solid majority of
Republicans are on the same page -- 73% call themselves conservative --
Democrats are more of a mixture. The major division among Democrats is
between self-defined moderates (40%) and liberals (38%). However, an
additional 22% of Democrats consider themselves conservative, much
higher than the 3% of Republicans identifying as liberal…”
The Mesmerized Masses are dismissive of the above data. To Mesmerize
is: “to hypnotize; to spellbind; fascinate; to compel by fascination.”
From a spiritual perspective, II Thessalonians 2:9-11
would construe it in a different manner: “The coming of the lawless one
is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,
and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they
refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a
strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that
all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in
unrighteousness.” This is the end result of irrational and
undisciplined self-indulgence! Don't you be dismissive!