Wow, isn't it just great that the US is fast on the road to socialized medicine? I know our health care system is flawed. I know it is ridiculous that things like having a baby in the hospital, doctor visits for a sick child, routine surgeries, teeth cleaning, nursing home care, etc. are out of the financial reach of most people. But I do believe getting the government involved will make things far worse. What if our gov't won't allow a woman to have a c-section because she already has two children? What if it takes several months of waiting to get pain medication for an accident that happened yesterday? What if your lifesaving surgery is on a waiting list so long that you won't make it? What if someone over a certain age--say, 75--is ineligible for any kind of medical care, because some bureaucrat thinks they have lived long enough? What if it's actually against the law for medical personnel to care for people who somehow don't "qualify?"
Do we really want someone who is pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia back in Washington DC making our medical decisions for us? Someone who doesn't know anything about us or our medical conditions?
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Torture?
I have read some opinions by sincere Christian folks who actually think it is OK to torture prisoners, with tortures like "water boarding," if it's done for the safety of our country!
One wonders what these folks would say if their own son was subjected to such things by an enemy country in the name of their own "national security."
If we don't want our children to undergo such things, why should our prisons be inflicting them on helpless "terrorist suspects?"
And speaking of safety and security, one must ask:
How many boys have we lost in political wars, wars fought supposedly for "national security?"
How many liberties have we lost in the name of "safety?"
How much government control and tyranny are we subjected to in the name of "safety?"
How long does it take before a government which sanctions torture starts torturing its own citizens who are considered "dangerous?"
One wonders what these folks would say if their own son was subjected to such things by an enemy country in the name of their own "national security."
If we don't want our children to undergo such things, why should our prisons be inflicting them on helpless "terrorist suspects?"
And speaking of safety and security, one must ask:
How many boys have we lost in political wars, wars fought supposedly for "national security?"
How many liberties have we lost in the name of "safety?"
How much government control and tyranny are we subjected to in the name of "safety?"
How long does it take before a government which sanctions torture starts torturing its own citizens who are considered "dangerous?"
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Power
Here are some thoughts on power written by Guglielmo Ferrero (1871-1942). Taken from the Wanderer, May 14, 2009:
"Authority comes from above,...and legitimacy comes from below. (This)...explains why democracy cannot be legitimized without an internal spiritual unity if all the people are not in agreement both on the prinicple of legitimacy and on the great moral and religious principles of life. If that unity does not agree, the right of opposition becomes the battleground for a struggle to the death."
"The sure and certain characteristic of illegitimacy in government is this two-pronged terror--the ruler's fear of the people, and the people's fear of the ruler...
"On the other hand government devoid of fear--whatever the form, from a hereditary monarchy to a constitutional republic--is firmly embedded in the principle of legitimacy. When this prevails, confidence and unity, outward calm and inner peace, are reflected in the lives involved, whether subject or citizens."
One thing that should make us all afraid is when a government is able to use torture to keep people in check. Some Americans say we need torture to prevent terrorist attacks, but torture makes a government evil. And who is a terrorist? Some people think anyone who opposes or criticizes the government is a terrorist.
"Authority comes from above,...and legitimacy comes from below. (This)...explains why democracy cannot be legitimized without an internal spiritual unity if all the people are not in agreement both on the prinicple of legitimacy and on the great moral and religious principles of life. If that unity does not agree, the right of opposition becomes the battleground for a struggle to the death."
"The sure and certain characteristic of illegitimacy in government is this two-pronged terror--the ruler's fear of the people, and the people's fear of the ruler...
"On the other hand government devoid of fear--whatever the form, from a hereditary monarchy to a constitutional republic--is firmly embedded in the principle of legitimacy. When this prevails, confidence and unity, outward calm and inner peace, are reflected in the lives involved, whether subject or citizens."
One thing that should make us all afraid is when a government is able to use torture to keep people in check. Some Americans say we need torture to prevent terrorist attacks, but torture makes a government evil. And who is a terrorist? Some people think anyone who opposes or criticizes the government is a terrorist.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The Church and Farming
From the Wanderer:
In "The Church and Farming" (1953), Fr. (Dennis) Fahey quoted extensively from Sir Albert Howard's "An Agricultural Testament"...and this passage is particularly striking:"The invasion of economics into agricultural research naturally followed the quantitative methods. It was an imitation of the successful application of costings to the operations of the factory...Farming has come to be looked at as if it were a factory. Agriculture is regarded as a commercial enterprise; far too much emphasis has been laid on profit. But the purpose of agriculture is far different than that of a factory. It has to provide food in order that the race may flourish and persist. The best results are obtained if the food is fresh and the soil is fertile. Quality is more important than weight...The nation's food in the nature of things must always take the first place. The financial system, after all, is but a second matter. Economics, therefore, in failing to insist on these elementary truths, has been guilty of a grave error of judgment...."It was a grave mistake. Fr. Fahey quotes another pioneer in the organic farming movement, Oxford-educated Jorian Jenks (1899-1963), as saying that food production could endlessly increase through the use of industrial methods at the expense of "soil fertility, but also forests, mineral deposits, and oil-fields...The West has allowed this terrific food problem to creep upon it almost unaware, because its whole economic outlook for several generations has been based on the assumption that food would always be cheap and plentiful. Such an assumption could of course only be made by populations out of touch with the soils that feed them."
In "The Church and Farming" (1953), Fr. (Dennis) Fahey quoted extensively from Sir Albert Howard's "An Agricultural Testament"...and this passage is particularly striking:"The invasion of economics into agricultural research naturally followed the quantitative methods. It was an imitation of the successful application of costings to the operations of the factory...Farming has come to be looked at as if it were a factory. Agriculture is regarded as a commercial enterprise; far too much emphasis has been laid on profit. But the purpose of agriculture is far different than that of a factory. It has to provide food in order that the race may flourish and persist. The best results are obtained if the food is fresh and the soil is fertile. Quality is more important than weight...The nation's food in the nature of things must always take the first place. The financial system, after all, is but a second matter. Economics, therefore, in failing to insist on these elementary truths, has been guilty of a grave error of judgment...."It was a grave mistake. Fr. Fahey quotes another pioneer in the organic farming movement, Oxford-educated Jorian Jenks (1899-1963), as saying that food production could endlessly increase through the use of industrial methods at the expense of "soil fertility, but also forests, mineral deposits, and oil-fields...The West has allowed this terrific food problem to creep upon it almost unaware, because its whole economic outlook for several generations has been based on the assumption that food would always be cheap and plentiful. Such an assumption could of course only be made by populations out of touch with the soils that feed them."
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Corporation Farming
(Taken from the April 16th edition of The Wanderer:
"In 1940, Msgr. Luigi Ligutti and Fr. John Rawe, SJ, warned Americans in their book "Rural Roads to Security: America's Third Struggle for Freedom," that perhaps the greatest internal enemies of the American people were the giant corporations that were taking ownership of all the farmland in this country and were producing "food' that was not only bereft of nutritional value but was positively harmful.
'Corporation farming,' they warned,'will in time destroy itself with its mechanical methods in a field essentially biological, but before this stupidity will reap its empty harvest, our American families will be finally and completely uprooted from the soil...This last Octopus of Wall Street will drive the remaining families from the land.' And Pope Pius XII lamented in an address to Italian farmers, "Finance capital hastens to take over the deserted countryside, and the land then becomes not an object of loving concern but of cold, calculating exploitation...it no longer produces except for speculation.'"
Serious words to ponder in these days when most of us are so dependent on the goodwill of giant corporations and big government to be able to feed our families!
"In 1940, Msgr. Luigi Ligutti and Fr. John Rawe, SJ, warned Americans in their book "Rural Roads to Security: America's Third Struggle for Freedom," that perhaps the greatest internal enemies of the American people were the giant corporations that were taking ownership of all the farmland in this country and were producing "food' that was not only bereft of nutritional value but was positively harmful.
'Corporation farming,' they warned,'will in time destroy itself with its mechanical methods in a field essentially biological, but before this stupidity will reap its empty harvest, our American families will be finally and completely uprooted from the soil...This last Octopus of Wall Street will drive the remaining families from the land.' And Pope Pius XII lamented in an address to Italian farmers, "Finance capital hastens to take over the deserted countryside, and the land then becomes not an object of loving concern but of cold, calculating exploitation...it no longer produces except for speculation.'"
Serious words to ponder in these days when most of us are so dependent on the goodwill of giant corporations and big government to be able to feed our families!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Higher Education
This morning I was reading a letter from a man about sending children to college.
He was writing in response to an article called "Is College Worth It?" Here are a few sentences:
"Thanks for the article on 'Is College Worth It?' I have four children, with two who have graduated. All four have loans. Your article does not mention those students who try to earn a college degree, and fail. My son attended an out-of-state school for about two years. He owes $65,000 without the degree. Something like buying a yacht and sinking it without insurance. Another daughter received a well-earned engineering degree from Virginia Tech. She has worked for two firms; both have closed the facility where she worked. Her current job prospects are bleak...Her loans must still be paid. Another daughter has earned a master's in occupational therapy. Her future is bright but she will need to start a private practice to truly free herself from student loans. The last daughter still owes me a little money from a Dad loan.
"The reason for these stories is to point out that the ROI (Return On Investment) for a college degree is variable and risky. I suspect many institutes of higher learning would close if we instituted a mandatory ROI calculation for students. College is worth it--for the tenured professors....Further compounding is the lack of culpability by the colleges. They offer no guarantees for jobs after graduation...We have sold our youth a perception that college is the golden path without teaching them the true cost to achieve that goal."
I think he makes some good points. Another point I would like to make is that I do not understand why parents would spend that kind of money to send their grown child to a place where their faith and values are constantly under attack. Why support such an institution?
He was writing in response to an article called "Is College Worth It?" Here are a few sentences:
"Thanks for the article on 'Is College Worth It?' I have four children, with two who have graduated. All four have loans. Your article does not mention those students who try to earn a college degree, and fail. My son attended an out-of-state school for about two years. He owes $65,000 without the degree. Something like buying a yacht and sinking it without insurance. Another daughter received a well-earned engineering degree from Virginia Tech. She has worked for two firms; both have closed the facility where she worked. Her current job prospects are bleak...Her loans must still be paid. Another daughter has earned a master's in occupational therapy. Her future is bright but she will need to start a private practice to truly free herself from student loans. The last daughter still owes me a little money from a Dad loan.
"The reason for these stories is to point out that the ROI (Return On Investment) for a college degree is variable and risky. I suspect many institutes of higher learning would close if we instituted a mandatory ROI calculation for students. College is worth it--for the tenured professors....Further compounding is the lack of culpability by the colleges. They offer no guarantees for jobs after graduation...We have sold our youth a perception that college is the golden path without teaching them the true cost to achieve that goal."
I think he makes some good points. Another point I would like to make is that I do not understand why parents would spend that kind of money to send their grown child to a place where their faith and values are constantly under attack. Why support such an institution?
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina Current mood:thoughtful
There has been a lot of hullaballoo about some bishop somewhere (Germany?) who made a statement that Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for sin, or something to that effect. Of course people were up in arms--how dare this man have an opinion! Especially in America (the only country I know of that actually voted in their dictator, rather than making him put together a military coup) the cries of outrage went up.Now I do not believe people in New Orleans are any guiltier of sin than, say, people in Seattle or Boise. Rejecting God's laws is popular all across the good ol' US of A! And as my mom used to say, "The innocent suffer along with the guilty." (I have changed that to "the innocent usually suffer a lot more than the guilty," but that's just me.)I am of the mindset that ANY natural disaster, or even unnatural disaster, is a call to repentance for EVERYONE, regardless of whether one was affected or not.
There has been a lot of hullaballoo about some bishop somewhere (Germany?) who made a statement that Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for sin, or something to that effect. Of course people were up in arms--how dare this man have an opinion! Especially in America (the only country I know of that actually voted in their dictator, rather than making him put together a military coup) the cries of outrage went up.Now I do not believe people in New Orleans are any guiltier of sin than, say, people in Seattle or Boise. Rejecting God's laws is popular all across the good ol' US of A! And as my mom used to say, "The innocent suffer along with the guilty." (I have changed that to "the innocent usually suffer a lot more than the guilty," but that's just me.)I am of the mindset that ANY natural disaster, or even unnatural disaster, is a call to repentance for EVERYONE, regardless of whether one was affected or not.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)