Afghanistan, Oil Wells - and Carp?

Rest easy, friends - the Obama Administration has things under control in the Great Carp War. Yes, we now have a Carp Czar to prevent the spread of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes. Cynic that I am, though, I'm going to take a contrarian view and say that this means we can look forward to this scene coming soon all over the Great Lakes - after we have $10-$20 billion or so. Sigh.

green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/on-our-radar-an-asian-carp-czar/

Hillary's Running for President

Hillary Clinton recently made the statement below to the Council on Foreign Relations. In that most conservatives and everyone but the far Lefties would agree with it, she has obviously concluded that Obama is DOA for 2012 and is moving to get in the race. I guess Carville's comments about the Obama Administration's botched handling of the Gulf oil well were not a coincidence. Stay tuned for open warfare in the Democratic party, although I also note that Rahm is looking at the Chicago mayoral race. Perhaps it's already a done deal and Obama is the only one who doesn't know it yet.

"Addressing the Council on Foreign Relations today in Washington, D.C., Clinton said the U.S. budget deficit under the Obama administration poses a national security threat and projects a "message of weakness" internationally. Responding to a question from CFR President Richard Haas, Clinton said rising U.S. debt levels pose a national security threat in two ways: "It undermines our capacity to act in our own interest, and it does constrain us where constraint may be undesirable."

Clinton continued, "I mean, it is very troubling to me that we are losing the ability not only to chart our own destiny but to, you know, have the leverage that comes from this enormously effective economic engine that has powered American values and interests over so many years."

www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=200849

There's Alot to Shrug About

Ayn Rand is a hero of libertarians. I first read her in high school starting with Atlas Shrugged and The Virtue of Selfishness and was very intrigued by her ideas. At the time, I was also a very new Christian and did not have a real background to evaluate her claims from a faith perspective. Although I still tend to be somewhat libertarian, a Christian has to be careful with Rand because she is definitely not coming from a Christian perspective.

The new Christianity Today has a good article about Rand by Gary Moore that quotes her own description of her philosophy as centered on:

"...the concept of man as a noble being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."

www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/september/2.36.html

It does not take long to critique this philosophy from a Christian perspective. Man is fallen and his nobility is long since gone. The moral purpose of man's life is not his own happiness but serving God. Productive achievement can be noble but it depends on the end and the motive. Finally, reason is clearly not the only absolute - faith is higher up the hierarchy and love even higher than faith.

Although her views are useful because a generally free economic system is more likely to produce more fruits for everyone, it is how individuals do this and to what end the fruits are put that are more crucial. As Christians, we are called upon to help the poor and share with those who are less fortunate, so while it's fine to go ahead and shrug with Atlas occasionally, be informed by your faith in all things, including economics and political philosophy, and let God be your guide.

Almost Christians

Did you know that 80%+ of Christian young people lose their faith during the college years. This story may give part of the "why" this is happening.

Actually the story is about "almost Christian" teenagers, but many of the points apply equally well to adults. The lead says that most kids today are being taught that God loves you and wants you to be happy; be nice to everybody and pray if you get in trouble. While it's OK, it doesn't have much to do with Jesus. The study is done by Kenda Creasy Dean of Princeton Theological Seminary and uses the term "almost Christian" because although the kids believe in God, they don't believe in bedrock Christian doctrines. Professor Dean says that:

"Researchers found that most young people believe in something they labeled 'Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.' It helps you feel good. Otherwise God stays out of the way.”

MTD - a very useful term describing a very common approach to faith: God blesses your agenda, helps you feel good, and otherwise makes no demands on your life.  Cool! A God like this is so, well so convenient.  This also describes the faith of a lot of adults. It certainly reflects our radically individualistic culture. And it's probably a vaccine against a grounded faith with the Living God. We need to know all we can about this phenomena and work to develop ways to get through the lie of this phony faith and get people grounded on the Rock.

www.mydesert.com/article/20100904/LIFESTYLES06/9030343/+Almost+Christian+++teenagers+cause+concern+for+church+scholars

Artifical Kidneys

The machine pictured to the left is a kidney dialysis machine. It is a life saver for many Americans but it is also a ball and chain because a person on dialysis must stay attached to it in a room for several hours while the machine does its work. Hope is on the way.

A research team at the University of San Francisco has developed a prototype of an implantable dialysis machine. If the prototype pans out, people suffering from kidney disease will no longer be tethered to a machine, but will take it with them while they lead their normal lives. Exciting technology and a ray of hope for thousands of kidney disease sufferers.

news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-20015581-247.html?tag=cnetRiver

Down with Big Units

Big usually isn't better. Small banks usually outperform big ones in customer service. Smaller airlines usually offer customer service better than the mega carriers.  Why? Because all too often big means unwieldy and unresponsive. Michael Barone has an excellent column describing the current public angst with things big - Big Government, Big Corporations, and Big Labor. The root of the discontent - Big isn't working very well. It's a good read.

townhall.com/columnists/MichaelBarone/2010/09/02/down_with_big_government,_big_business,_big_labor

Measures 66-67 Keep on Giving!

Weyerhaeuser announced today that it is closing its Albany plant producing engineered wood. The closure throws 70 people out of work. I'm going to hazard a guess on the reason. The market for engineered wood stinks right now because construction is just about dead and will become totally moribund as winter sets in. If they keep producing at a minimal level to keep the plant open for a hoped-for turnaround, though, the company gets taxed on its gross income, not net, so keeping a similar plant open in another state is more economic. What to do? The answer was announced today.  Thanks M66-67! You certainly are tagging all those rich guys!

www.kgw.com/news/Weyerhaeuser-to-close-Albany--plant-101997658.html