Saturday, January 28, 2012

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Let me see if I can get a discussion going. So K and I have been giving more consideration to expatriating. We are nowhere near having the means to do this, but for us it is a question of near to mid term goals. Has anyone else out there among my vast readership given any thought to emigrating? If so, where would you consider going? For those that have not considered this, if you had to live somewhere else, where would you head?

Friday, January 27, 2012

Why You Should Vote for Ron Paul (Episode 1): Your Penance

So I want to start a series of posts on why you should vote for Ron Paul. This will be an exceedingly difficult task for me and it is likely that I will not succeed because it will require that I set aside the time and energy to come up with 3+ posts on the subject in order for it to rightfully be labeled a series. I am not at all confident in my ability to accomplish this--not because of the inadequacy of the topic but because of the inadequacy of my personal diligence. So for now I will think of this writing as the post that is the first in what will hopefully be known as a series.

Now to get to the point.

You owe us. By "you" I refer to just about everyone in this country that makes up the generation composed of my generation's parents and before. Allow me to be frank about this: we're screwed and it's your fault. It is very well possible--I'd lean toward probable--that the state of the union is beyond recovery at this point. That means that whatever you do, whoever you vote for, there is no guarantee that it is even possible to rectify the situation at this late date. However, that sad reality does not relieve you of your responsibility to do the right thing and personally repent of the poor decisions you have made and the evils you failed to prevent. You and your peers contributed to bringing about the present dire situation; now own your mistakes like adults.

Many of you likely do not understand how dire the situation is--a fact which only adds to your guilt. You should have educated yourself a long time ago. People were counting on you--your children and grandchildren trusted you. You failed. At this very moment, according to usdebtclock.org, the total national debt stands around $15 trillion, just slightly more than total GDP. Now, there is no easy way for any of us to comprehend what a number like 15 trillion means (which should be a huge red flag already), but I'll try to help you conceptualize the problem. This could be thought of as just under $50k for every man, woman, and child in this country from nursery to nursing-home. Or it could be seen as the 136k for every tax-payer. That debt to gdp ratio tells us that even if the government stopped spending money tomorrow and taxed 100% of every dollar spent for a year, the national debt would almost be paid for. That is what is called an impossible situation.

Now I'm not going to go on about the implications of all this on a society (and they are legion). That is something you should have been figuring out decades ago. I'm also not going to use this post to touch on the myriad of issues related to civil liberties, unconstitutional powers, or social debasement. The simple facts of the fiscal situation in this country should be enough to make you realize that you screwed up--assuming you care. Of course, judging by the your actions the only reasonable conclusion is that you obviously do not care. Like spoiled children, you had the proverbial wealth of the American experiment handed to you and you managed to spoil it faster than would have been believed possible.

To bring this back around to the point of this post, Ron Paul is nearly the only person on the political horizon (and the only candidate for president) that both understands the situation and isn't himself one of the perpetrators. He is the only candidate that comes close to being serious about initiating the kind of action that is needed if there is even a chance of rectifying the tragedy you have created. I am not employing hyperbole when I say that if there is still any political hope whatsoever of salvaging this country through civil means it will be gone after this election. We are certainly approaching a tipping point, beyond which everything changes. For our sake, for the sake of those who are just beginning to inherit your disaster, do the right thing for my generation and your children. Turn off the television. Learn the cause of Liberty. Vote Ron Paul.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Short Post, Long Links, Altogether Boring

So I've been listening to the "2011 Prophecy Update" series by Ken Ortiz of Calvary Spokane. While my eschatological views are starkly different than his and I consequently reject the notion that what is happening in the world today has very much direct relevance to biblical prophecy, I think that Ken does a good job of summarizing some economic and historical reasons to believe that we are altogether in an altogether terrible situation. He also has some good stuff to say about how to respond in light of a Christ-centered worldview. While I would caution you to not accept his "end-times" theological assumptions without strong consideration and thorough examination, the series should be worth your while if you have the while at your disposal. Enjoy:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3