Politics

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This Tuesday the White House released their Mid-Session Review admitting they made a $2 trillion miscalculation in the size of the federal deficit that President Barack Obama’s borrow and spend policies would inflict on our nation. Heritage senior policy analyst Brian Riedl details the carnage:

  • While President Obama claims to have inherited the 2009 budget deficit, it is important to note that the estimated 2009 budget deficit has increased by $400 billion since his inauguration, and the whole point of the “stimulus” was to increase deficit spending to nearly $2 trillion based on the unproven notion that would it alleviate the recession.
  • The 22 percent spending increase projected for 2009 represents the largest government expansion since the 1952 height of the Korean War (adjusted for inflation). Federal spending is up 57 percent since 2001.
  • In 2009, Washington will spend $30,958 per household–the highest level in American history–and under President Obama’s budget, the figure will rise above $33,000 by 2019.
  • The White House brags that it will cut the deficit in half by 2013. The President does not mention that the deficit has nearly quadrupled this year. Merely cutting it in half from that bloated level would still leave budget deficits twice as high as under President Bush.
  • The public national debt–$5.8 trillion as of 2008–is projected to double by 2012 and nearly triple by 2019. Thus, America would accumulate more government debt under President Obama than under every President in American history from George Washington to George W. Bush combined.

From the Foundry, the blog of the Heritage Foundation

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“But don’t expect anyone in Congress to admit that taxpayers are paying around $6,000 to provide a $4,500 rebate for a foreigner or illegal immigrant to buy a new car. “ (Lurita Doan)

read the rest (HT: The Foundry - blog of the Heritage Foundation)

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A few days ago I posted the statement by Jenny Sanford.

On the face of it, it sounds "right".  Forgiveness, restoration, putting a marriage back together.  It takes a lot of work and their work was made much more difficult by the fact that the work is now in the public eye.

There is one thing "wrong" (and it's not Jennifer that wrote it).  I happened to hear Michelle Malkin on the Sean Hannity show right before I read the statement and she made a big fuss (BIG) about the fact that Sandford was in Argentina on Father's Day and not spending it with his sons.

Here's the thing.  The statement said that his wife asked him to leave, so it was her decision for him to not have any contact with his family during that time.

There is a lot that Sanford did wrong - spending Father's Day away from his kids was not his choice so he should not be blamed for that.

As far as what he did - there is no excuse.  We don't know what was happening in their marriage that may have made it "seem" like an option, but what he did was wrong.

Should he resign?  I believe so, but not because of his moral behavior.  If we learned anything during the Clinton years, it was that if it doesn't affect the job, we shouldn't worry about it.

But this did.  I believe that he should resign because he put his staff in the position of lying for him.

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As I knit, I've been knitting socks, I've been using a variety of patterns.  After browsing patterns (mostly looking at pictures, I can sort out the patterns later) I noticed that they mostly follow the same basic structure.

Cast on 64 (56, 48, 32).  Are all socks multiples of 8?  The vast majority, yes.  ok.

There are only two places that the sock "decreases" - the heel and the toe.  I use the "magic loop" method of sock knitting, so I have the sock in two parts (the top of the foot and the bottom of the foot).  You decrease 1 stitch at both ends of both these parts every other row.

For a while I worried about trying to remember if I had decreased the even rows or the odd rows and then I just decided that (if I had to) I would adjust the pattern so that I also decreased on the odd rows.

EVEN IS EVEN

During the decrease times, I knit even (no increase, no decrease) on the even rows.

Once I established this habit, it became...well, a habit.  I have a row counter, if it's an even row, I knit even.

EVEN IS EVEN

One of the big political flaps of the week was the Letterman/Palin media scuffle.

Other than the "top ten" lists, I'm not a big Letterman fan.  I appreciate the Palin family's protection (even if overly dramatic) of their child.

Matthew 18 may (or may not) apply - Letterman does not claim to be a brother in Christ.  But we are to show the world how repentance and forgiveness works.  If Palin had gone privately to Letterman first, perhaps there would have been a different ending?    Right now, the sincerity of the  apology is being debated; if the confrontation had been private and Letterman had said the same thing, there would be no debate.

Palin made political hay.  While I understand her very public defense of her daughter and would most likely (at the very least have been tempted to) do the same, she still made hay.

Over the last couple of days, Sarah Palin had two roads.  Her "acceptance" of the apology is just as insincere as the apology is made out to be.  Her chiding had no place in the forgiveness by a Christian.

"Of course it's accepted on behalf of young women, like my daughters, who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve."

In an ideal world, it would have been

"Of course, on behalf of women everywhere, it's accepted."

Period.  Just as "sorry...but..." apologies have a more appropriate ending, so do acceptances.

But that is what is it is.

Just as important:

EVEN IS EVEN

Just as important is the response of Christians.

I've written before about how an apology is a cheap substitute for real repentance.  and "I accept" is a cheap substitute for real forgiveness.

Real forgiveness means restoration and a promise to not hold the offense against the offender again.  Ever.

An opportunity to show the Gospel has been passed up.  If the Palins (including Willow) had agreed to be on Letterman's show and if Willow had held Letterman's hand and said,

"We all do things that are wrong and we all need forgiveness.   I have been forgiven by God and I forgive you."

What would that have told the world?

But no...there is hay to be made.

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Satire blog:  "Barack Obama's Teleprompter's Blog"  (there is no POTUS without TOTUS)

Specifically, we just break out into giggling fits over some of the things the Administration folks have him saying. Like this morning, Big Guy was expected to record this with a straight-voice about legislation that required the federal government to pay for what it appropriated: "We need to adhere to the basic principle that new tax or entitlement policies should be paid for, so that government acts the same way any responsible family does in setting its budget."

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I restarted and closed my open tabs, so this may be it...

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On "The Two Kingdoms":

The first is the earthly kingdom (in which Calvin includes government, household management, all mechanical skills, and the liberal arts) exists and we exist in it.

The heavenly kingdom (the knowledge of God and of his will, and the rule by which we conform our lives to it) also exists and we exist in it.

It is the separation of these two kingdoms that allow me to be politically and socially active (and not constantly include "as a Christian"...or "as a Reformed Christian") and religiously active (and not constantly feel the need to inject politics into my faith).

I am active in both kingdoms and do not deny either.

When we look to politics for answers to our faith, we are running to the created world (this does not mean that Christians should not be politically active; this means that we should not look to the government to the solutions for our [general "our"; human beings] spiritual questions.

There are those who end up treating radical (or even not so radical) conservatism or liberalism as the "solution" to man's problems.  If we only had more money for this program, if abortions were available for any reason, for anybody at any time....and free, if the government would get out of the way, if liberals would get out of the education system, yada, yada...everything would be wonderful!

Man's problem is sin and the solution is Christ.

If a young single high school student gets pregnant, has the kid, lets the government pay for her home, post-high-school education, food stamps, medical care, etc...and then gets pregnant again...and again turns to the government...

the answer to her problem is not to get more government spending.  Her problem is her lifestyle and the answer is Christ.

These are the two kingdoms - earthly and heavenly.  As Christians, we believe that we are in the world, but not of the world.  As members of the earthly kingdom, we can (and should) work to make our physical environment a better place, but we strive for the heavenly kingdom.