The Line

The Super Bowl is a cultural event these days, so despite the lack of a rooting interest, I dutifully tuned the television to the appropriate station about an hour before kickoff. The pre-game shows were playing in the background on the small TV in our kitchen while I was cooking. The experts predicted, the ex-players pontificated and no one seemed the least bit concerned about the energy, effort and expense required to put on this extravaganza. If America produces anything these days it's entertainment. The Super Bowl is quite a production, but is it really that entertaining?

Once the matchup is determined every aspect of the game is analyzed, every potential scenario spelled out and every controversy, imagined or real, is discussed in two weeks of unrelenting press coverage leading up to the game. By the time the pre-game shows get started, there is nothing to say that hasn't been said and all that's left is to see the show. The game, the commercials, the halftime show are all predictable and dependable. The game will have unique highlights and the outcome will initially be uncertain, but no matter who wins, no one will be surprised for long. The commercials are never as funny as hoped to be and the halftime show is usually as bad as expected.

Why do we watch this, what do we get out of it? Only a small percent of viewers are actual fans of the teams playing. We see the same routes and runs and tackles and kicks each week in any random NFL game. Players and coaches become overshadowed by the stage. The are no special Super Bowl rules. There are no fresh, new musical acts at halftime (just go back 10 years and grab a random greatest hits CD) and we all know the punchline to every advertisement (buy this beer, this car, this thing). Do we think we are watching history? Do we crave the shared experience? Are we honoring competition and effort and excellence? Or, do we simply have nothing better to do and need an excuse for a party.

Puttering around the kitchen, the pre-game percolating in the background, the reason behind our watching emerged from the reliable ramblings of the coaches, commentators and clowns, each as insistent as the last about their particular insight. In the end, it's all about the lines.

Betting lines.
Offensive lines.
Defensive lines.  Goal lines.
Side lines ... Yard lines ... End lines.

The line of scrimmage.

Players are judged for crossing the clean hit/dirty hit line,
   the good defense versus pass interference line and
   the team player or selfish player line.

Quarterbacks and coaches manage lines of communication,
   while linebackers adjust their line of attack to compromise the quarterback's line of sight.

We don't watch expecting to see something new, we watch because it's predictable. We don't want the extravaganza, we want the structure. We don't want to be challenged, we want to be reassured. The rules will be followed, excellence will be rewarded, the ritual will be completed. The Super Bowl, like what we serve for it, queso and wings and chips and beer and pizza, is comfort food. The lines that define the game give us comfort the same way that children feel more secure in a structured, predictable environment.

An anti-American rapper flips the bird to millions of Americans and the reaction is a collective yawn. It's just part of the show, it doesn't mean anything, does it? The half-time singer lip-syncs her way through the entire set, and that's okay, too, because the presentation and production is more important than talent and art. The unmarried star quarterback father's a child with an actress, then later marries a super model. That's okay, too because, well, times have changed and doing what we want takes precedence over doing what is right. Obscene gestures broadcast world-wide, technically perfect but soulless performances, children growing up without their fathers ... that's all okay because who are we to define the line between right and wrong? There is no rule book for life, right?

Real life does have lines, however, they are sliding down the slippery slope of all the things we've carefully piled up in the name of equity, social justice, "progress," political correctness and guilt. The lines of relationship and responsibility have all been paved over by expert good intentions. Social Security undermines saving. Affirmative Action excuses achievement. Welfare subsidizes dysfunction. Regulation requires risky lending. Zero down minimizes committment. Student loans encourage impracticality. Free condoms bless teenage sex. Charity mutates to public program, excusing private obligation. Elder care is institutional. Anger is art. Cursing is comedy. Progress enables tyranny. The 'Walk of Shame' is honored, while a walk of faith is ridiculed. Over time the bits and pieces of selfishness and giant chunks of entitlement have been wedged in and around the line of proper behavior that defines a civil society, distorting it beyond discernment.

Lucky for us, we have the Super Bowl, where the rules are known, the playing field is marked and for a few hours our chaotic world is distinctly black & white, complete with professionally trained black and white judges to take the blame in any questionable situations. This fabricated world, this game, is isolated, above reproach, a logical, rational place where any uncomfortable crimes or socially unacceptable behaviors can be conveniently confined to the 'off-the-field' buffer. The buffer is emptied when 'off-the-field' behavior outweighs 'on-the-field' performance. Performance must always be the priority because the line for acceptable behavior is too blurred, and performance is an objective measure. Animal cruelty? Domestic abuse? Drugs? Gun violence? Adultery? Injury bounties? Spy cameras? Gambling? Obstruction of justice? Performance enhancing drugs? Rape? Never mind all that, just look at the stats to make your decision on right and wrong. It's much simpler that way.

It's not just the Super Bowl, it's everything. We don't have the guts to say what we believe, what we think is right and what we think is wrong. Instead, we equivocate, we ignore, we excuse and worst of all, we leave it to someone else, some bureaucrat, some expert, some celebrity, some institution to define for us what is right and what is wrong. We abandon principle. It's too confining. We embrace the 1960's counter culture idea of "do your own thing" and equate it with personal freedom, never understanding that this concept of freedom, one with no boundaries, is directionless chaos. No direction means no purpose. No purpose means no fulfillment. No fulfillment leads to a frustrating existence and all this because we think freedom is 'do what we want' instead of 'do what is right.' We are such children.

We need lines to make us happy so we create an elaborate, structured game with every type of line imaginable, while for the important stuff, for real life, we steadily erase them.

Go Cowboys.

Dear Public School

Dear Principal G----,

My son, ------- ------, is a freshman at ------. His World Geography teacher is Ms. W-------. He often discusses the topics they cover in class with me and I appreciate that. It says a lot about the teacher and the class when a fifteen year old young man is prompted to discuss history and current events with his father. That said, I feel compelled to let you know that I am quite concerned over some of the opinions he came home with on Friday, February 10. I believe he said there was a substitute teacher that day.

I am willing to admit that ------- may have mis-heard, or mis-interpreted, some things that were said, but there is a consistency about what he relayed to me that makes me believe he got the intention and implications correct, if not the exact details. Here are a few generalized comments reportedly said:

'America is a plutocracy, not a democracy.'
'The oil industry is greedy.'
'We get 20% of our oil from the Middle East and should stop buying from them, but oil companies will damage our environment if they drill here.'
'America is imperialistic and too involved in other countries internal affairs.'
'Iran shouldn't have nuclear weapons, but neither should the United States.'
'Capitalism doesn't help the poor.'
'We have a class system like India.'
'Doctors pay 7% of their income in tax, but teachers pay over 40%.'

When I asked if these were presented as facts or opinions, ------- said that the teacher made a point of prefacing most things with "in my opinion." I happen to disagree with those opinions, and I have no problem discussing with my son why. What concerns me are the student's that don't discuss these opinions with someone else, the students who are not exposed to an alternative perspective. I understand that eliminating bias and opinion completely is impossible, but I also think that a one-sided presentation of opinion is, at a minimum, poor teaching technique. The bigger concern is that this sort of class room political propaganda minimizes more important lessons, like critical thinking and the complexity behind world and political events. Frankly, from the obvious slant and the lack of balance, this seems more like indoctrination than education.

Criticism of the status quo is not the same as critical thinking.

I am not asking for any action to be taken, nor do I want this escalated in any way. I simply want to make you aware of my concern. ------- has been a PISD student since first grade and over those years I have consistently had to provide the alternative opinion to what he "learns" at school ...

'No, the polars bears aren't going extinct and changing our light bulbs to the squiggly kind won't save them.'
'No, President Bush didn't steal the election in 2000.'
'No, we did not go to war in Iraq to get their oil.'
'No, guns do not need to be outlawed to make neighborhoods safe.'
'I'm sorry, I do not know what the proper ethnic dress is for suburban white kid. Just wear your cowboy boots for Diversity Day.'

... and up until now I have never mentioned it to any teacher or principal. Throughout his years in PISD my son has consistently come home with the same, single political perspective. As someone with an alternative view, it infuriates me, not because I'm right and the teacher's wrong, but because there's no balance. We need to equip our children with knowledge and reasoning and the confidence that they can use those tools to find their way through a complex world. We don't need to handicap them with tired, confining political talking points. If a teacher is not confident enough in their opinions to present the opposing view, then their opinion is about as valuable as the effort they put into reaching it.

I just wanted to make you aware of my concerns. I have been silent about them for too long and I believe we are at a point where silence or apathy about political issues, letting things like this go without comment, is a dangerous thing to do for the success of our children and the future of our country. I would appreciate your efforts in working toward a better balance of political opinion in your classrooms.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Dexter Turner

Gut Check

No one particularly cares about my opinions on the GOP candidates, but the initial impetus for this blog was to 'think out loud' so here's my shot at contributing to the noise. Most of it truly is noise, and most Americans, those who don't read political pundits everyday or carry around a double-bit axe  just to have something handy for grinding, are not distracted by the noise. They vote with their gut. Sometimes they use it to vote 'for' someone, but often they use it vote 'against' the other guy.

Obama was elected by blacks and the dependable left. They voted for him, they felt he represented them. Independents and other inch deep types voted against George W. Bush. Some were also voting against John McCain because it was "his turn", as part of the Republican establishment, to run. And some voted for Obama, by not voting. It always works out that way. The Democrats were effective in generating interest in (and covering up problems with) an acceptable candidate and the Republicans, fearfully politically correct, couldn't or wouldn't differentiate themselves, so why not vote for "change"? Simplistic maybe, but it's how it seems to me.

In the 2012 Presidential election there will be a considerable block of people who want to vote against Barack Obama and as long as the Republican candidate can remain "acceptable," which they will have proven they can do by winning the nomination, they should be able to pick up enough 'against' votes to beat Obama. Conservative pundits, establishment types and the mushy middle rely on the Buckley Rule to make their for and against arguments on candidates. Buckley said conservatives should support 'the most conservative candidate who is electable'. The last part is, of course, the tricky bit, especially considering that there is no consensus about which of the two (currently front-running) big government candidates, Romney or Gringrich, is more electable. And I can honestly say, as one of the unwashed masses, that I don't believe anyone can sufficiently define "electability" for the rule to make sense.

In my view, neither of those two is electable. They are both insiders, "his turn" candidates, and no one, especially the 30 million who watch American Idol, will be as excited about voting 'for' Gingrich/Romney as they are voting 'against' Obama.  A candidate can say all the right things for months, but really, what's the difference? Big government is big government, an insider is an insider and party aristocracy is party aristocracy. The American public knows lip-synching when they hear it ... why do you think they watch 'Idol' in the first place? They want to see genuine, everyday people like themselves using their God-given talents and succeeding, not the next Disney pop stars singing cover tunes.

Initially, I was on the Herman Cain band wagon. There was no doubt about him being an outsider and his pure American success story would be hard to beat. I wanted to see two black men running for President, especially ones with such contrasting ideologies, to take race out of the equation. It would have leveled the playing field. But he missed the "acceptable" boat with questionable personal issues and a seemingly superficial grasp of issues. I liked that he defaulted to principles when trying to articulate positions he clearly didn't have details on, but he couldn't have won the nomination with that tactic. He was on the stage too long.

Speaking of on the stage too long, I'm really glad Sarah Palin decided not to run. Not because I dislike her. On the contrary, of all the political personalities on the conservative side if I could wave a magic wand and make her President, I would. Not only do I think she would be a great President, it would be delicious watching her detractors squirm while the country excelled. Without a magic wand, getting elected would have been impossible. Debates with Obama would have been entertaining, as would the press and their sabotage efforts, but, in the end she would not have won because she is a woman. It would not be the men who kept her from winning, it would be the women. A President Palin would be threatening to a lot of outspoken, high profile women ... you wouldn't see her being endorsed by NOW or the hosts of The View. Now that I think about it, I suspect there are a lot more male voters in Alaska than female ones, so I'll use that as the evidence for what my gut is telling me. American women could comfortably vote for a woman like Hilary, so obviously second in the relationship with her man, but not Palin. She is not a prop or the heir to a political empire.

Women are also threatened by Michelle Bachmann, though it's not exactly the same. Bachmann comes across as a little too shrill, a little too convinced of her own righteousness, a little less humble. The other difference between these two women is experience and accomplishment. People don't get elected to the Presidency from the House of Representatives because, honestly, what do they really accomplish? They are opinion mongers with a vote, and their bread and butter is topped with slices of pork. They are representatives, not executives. They are one of us, not leaders of us, and that makes whatever political accomplishments they have seem unimpressive ... something any of us could do with the right nudging and contributions from lobbyists and special interests. Is Michelle Bachmann principled? I have no doubt that she is, but I don't see people putting her in an executive position. The thing that turned me off from Bachmann was really minor ... a comment about a disorganized staff, another about changing Chiefs, the shuffle in her campaign leadership ... and I found myself feeling that these similar things said something important about her. When I factored in her personality, the righteousness, my own experiences working for similar personalities, it wasn't difficult to go from "these are plausible incidents" to "she probably can't lead a diverse group." That may be unfair, but it's hard to get past the impression and I don't think I'm alone.

The same sorts of questions come up about Gingrich and his leadership of the U.S. House. I'm sure there are two sides to the story, but for the average American, the name Gingrich is a lot closer to meaning double-talking-political-grinch than it is to principled, effective leader. If they don't know about the ins and outs of his tenure as Speaker of the House, they have at least absorbed that it was contentious. And they likely know something about his personal life. Unfortunately, someone in their third marriage is not unusual in our society, but it's still not considered an enhancement to character. Ask anyone who has been divorced. It's probably on their "life lesson" list, not their "accomplishment" list. Gingrich carries a negative political and personal vibe with him, plus, he's an arrogant, big ego, know-it-all who has a government related answer to everything. His vertical leap is higher than his likeability index. There is little doubt that Gingrich is capable of saying the right things, the things that will differentiate him from Obama, because he is, after all, the "smart" Republican. It's doubtful, however, that the American public will trust him. Oh sure, the policy wonks and political dilettantes will like him, because his intelligence reflects their own, you see, but your average Joe knows that "smart Republican" in the nomination press is simply code for sneaky, greedy and morally bankrupt in the general election press. Newt would eviscerate Obama in a debate, but how would he govern? Just like Obama ... ego first.

Mitt Romney is, even more than Newt, the "next in line" for establishment Republicans. He's likeable. He's an experienced leader. He says the right things. He's polished. He has resources. He is John McCain and Bob Dole. He is Mitch McConnell. He is Kay Bailey Hutchison. He is George H.W. Bush. He is safe. He is boring. He will move this country not one iota in a conservative direction because he truly is a reach-across-the-aisle, compromising, moderate. The Tea Party will be put back in its place, waiting to be called upon again for the next progressive over-reach, even though it will likely be too late. The phrase "anyone but Romney" exists because people know he is the business-as-usual-why-bother-voting candidate. Nominating Mitt Romney is like guaranteeing bad weather on election day; people will stay home. They won't be at the voting booth 'holding their nose', they'll be at the bar drinking shots and punching up songs from Nothin' Matters and What If It Did on the jukebox.

If Mitt is Kay Bailey, Ron Paul is Ross Perot ... different, energetic, bold, consistent and ultimately, divisive. He is an anti-Obama candidate; there would be no mistaking them and no one could say "they are both are the same." You could say that about Paul versus the rest of the Republican field, too. His uniqueness is his biggest selling point. It's also his biggest problem. Last election we voted for change, but we really didn't want that much of it and so there is this backlash. Despite low approval ratings for Congress and a perceptable increase in distrust of the government, no one is ready for a revolution whether it's an "Occupy" one or a libertarian one. I appreciate having Ron Paul in the race as a Republican because he helps move the party in a more libertarian direction, but he would not be able to do that as President. If Ron Paul is elected President in 2012 he would, essentially, be Bizarro Obama. He would have two years with a Republican Congress, but not get much done because his agenda would be too extreme. Then in 2014 the Republicans would be in the same position as the Democrats in 2010, defending a President they didn't really support, and they would lose control of Congress. In a bizarro sort of way voting for Ron Paul, the most anti-Obama candidate, turns out to be sorta like voting for Obama instead of against him. The average voter isn't thinking consciously of this kind of scenario, but at some level they recognize that Paul's ideology is equally extreme as Obama's.

Rick Santorum is an anti-Obama candidate, too. He's well spoken, experienced, informed and principled. If he got the nomination, and the associated funds, he would definitely provide a contrast to Obama. The general public opinion of him probably runs from "who?" to "the anti-gay pro-life guy" and little else. I like Rick Santorum. He could be an effective anti-Obama candidate. He beats the social conservative drum a bit too loudly at times, not that there's anything wrong with that. The majority of Americans are not worried about a newly elected President imposing some Christian version of Sharia Law, but social issues will be used to create an emotional, extremist caricature that Santorum does not have the resources to overcome. I hope he does well in Iowa. He needs a turn at the top to get his non-social message out. He also pushes the party to the right. His biggest asset is that he seems to be the truly principled politician, but, unfortunately, that is probably one reason behind his lack of resources. Is it possible, as a politician, to be too principled and honest? Santorum once said that losing the Senate race in 2006 was not as bad as not standing on principle. I truly respect that, and would hope to live up to that standard, but my cynical self says you'll never beat Obama standing on principles because he plays by different rules. Santorum's principles, regardless of their popularity, make him predictable and an 'unsexy' candidate. Not only that, he's not even interested in pretending to be sexy just for the sake of winning.

John Huntsman, another non-sexy candidate, should be considered reasonable and acceptable. He was a governor with a conservative record. He doesn't have the personal baggage of Newt, but it's a toss up between him and Mitt on who has less charisma. A lack of cash doesn't seem to be a problem for Huntsman and, ironically, for him, it's a turn off because his Daddy is rich. He is John Kerry running on Heinz money. Like Newt, he can say all the right things. He may even be able to point to specific policies and actions as governor to back up the words, but in the end, he worked for Obama. We may all understand that it was political manuevering on Obama's part to get a prominent Republican in his administration, and that for Huntsman it was a good spring board to a national and international stage, but my gut tells me at some level these two men have something in common, at least enough to make the back scratching deal on the ambassador job. What is Huntsman's vibe? It's very similar to Obama's actually ... arrogant, entitled, educated and generally above it all.

Which leaves us with Rick Perry, my Governor. Perry has been a good governor. I'm willing to give him credit for working to create a regulatory and economic environment that is "open for business," but he makes a mistake by touting it. For practical reasons he has to, but in terms of "vibe" and "impression" and "style" he's focusing too much on it and needs to let other people make the point. It is the one area where he begins to sound like Obama ... too much "I." The reason Perry has been a good governor, in my view, is that he has mostly stayed in Austin, out of my sight. His comments about making the federal government inconsequential really resonated with the public partly because it's what they want to hear, and partly because how sincerely he delivered it. Perry stumbles when he tries to play a role outside the scope of his sincerity.

All the candidates can make the case that they are anti-Obama in terms of policy. Perry, however, has the best anti-Obama "presence." He's publicly humble. He is not the next great political orator. (Yes, I know Obama is not really a great orator either, but who am I to disrupt a publicly accepted meme?) And then there's Paint Creek, TX vs. Hawaii and Indonesia, executive experience vs. none, shooting coyotes vs. cruiser bikes and mom jeans and military pilot vs. community organizer. Like Obama, Perry is a career politician, and that bothers me, but give me good ol' boy Texas politics over Chicago machine politics, especially when you factor in that he's not part of the Texas/Bush political aristocracy (ask Kay Bailey how that worked out for her). There is also a whiff of cronyism around Perry (that's better than the stench around Obama), but give me Gardasil over Solyndra and Harold Simmons and Red McCombs over Andrew Stern and John Corzine.

The current GOP front-runners are like all the other entitled nomination candidates they have run at us for years ... Newt is McCain is Mitt is some Bush. Rick Perry? Rick Perry is Bill Clinton - a common man who figured out politics, a legitimate candidate outside the establishment, with good instincts and strong connections - and the huge bonus of not being a Democrat and serial adulterer.

In 2008 Barack Obama was correct. The American people voted for change. They thought they were voting for a change from "the failed policies of the past" and Obama successfully hung that on the Republicans, in some cases deservedly so. Those failed policies were "Republican" for the first two months of 2009, but the public quickly figured out that they are more properly labeled "Big Government" policies. After Obamacare and bailouts and cronyism the public knows what needs to change and they are rightfully skeptical of anyone promising to deliver the kind needed.

You don't stem the tide of government growth by electing one of the anointed because it's how they got anointed. And even if there were some objective test where you could say "this candidate is the most conservative" and by some miracle they were also the most "electable" (whatever that means) it would not matter if they could not practically move the country in a more conservative, libertarian direction for the long term. The progressive agenda, incrementally implemented over the past century, has pushed the country to the current precipice. We can wave the Constitution all we want, but there will be no immediate relief. The way back will be slow going, and in the process of governing each path chosen by our leaders will need to take us away from the precipice ... not balancing along the edge, not jumping off and hoping for the best, not blindly charging back leaving behind things worth keeping ... slow, predictable progress toward proven principles and policies.

Love the halo, O.

Going with my gut, Rick Perry seems to be the one candidate who can do that, not because he has the most detailed policy plans or because his style is motivational or his appeal is universal, but because over 11 years as Governor of Texas he has managed to push and nudge and pry the environment away from the precipice without demanding more of my time and resources and effort, without bankrupting the next generation and without sparking a population boom in a dependent class. I don't want a transcendent President. I want one that is trustworthy, sincere and gets results without whining or making excuses. I want Calvin Coolidge, not Teddy (or Franklin!) Roosevelt. I'm looking for John the Baptist, not Jesus Christ. We recently elected one Messiah and that hasn't turned out so well. Perry has admitted he is not a perfect candidate, an honest and easy admission, but I trust him to point the way and my gut tells me he can win.

Truth Telling

For the third time in the past week I've seen a Bernie Sanders (Senator - Democratic Socialist, VT) quote posted on facebook. It's a sort of catch-all for my liberal friends ... blaming Bush, advocating for more government, an "independent" political voice, class warfare and claiming the moral, compassionate high ground all rolled up into one arrogant, partisan, rabble-rousing, ill-informed, but marketable, quote.

What I know of Senator Sanders is that his vote can be bought, that he stoops to the lowest form of rhetoric in his fundraising efforts, and that his favorite political tactic (and socialism's in general) is to promote class warfare. He also likes to trumpet his "independent" status while caucusing with the Democrats and voting with them 99% of the time. He strikes me as your typical uber-left, know-it-all, elitist who panders to the fringe by being an obnoxious jerk to everyone else. He thinks the know-nothing majority is not smart enough  or enlightened enough to embrace his ideas on their merits. He is the worst kind of politician, promoting himself as a middle class hero while his policies and ideology punish them.

If you can't tell, I do not like Bernie Sanders. And I do not like The Christian Left who are using this Sanders quote and others to imply that if you do not support progressive politics, well then, you aren't quite as good a Christian as they are.

We are The Christian Left. We’re all around you. We’re among the people. Take a look. We’re part of the Body of Christ. We’re Christians. We’re Liberal. We make no apologies. In fact Jesus' ways are “Liberal.” That’s why He was killed. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were the conservatives of their time. This is clear. 

It's interesting that a group that considers itself egalitarian and doesn't want to be labeled, has no problem segregating "the Christian Right" from the body of Christ and labeling anyone who is not politically "left" as a legalistic literalist opposed to Christ. Also, they make it sound as if they are a voice from the religious margins, an oppressed minority group, but in fact the religious left is the dominate political power in most mainline protestant denominations, which may be an indication of why mainline denominations are failing. They are failing not just in terms of membership, though the decline is dramatic, but also in their mission. Despite the frequent use of scripture on their website, it's pretty obvious that the focus here is more on "Left" than on "Christian" and you don't have to read the original Greek to understand that obvious insincerity in using faith to promote politics is not the Gospel message.

We have here, in one simple, and frankly unattractive, graphic, two myths that need a counter argument. The first is the actual Sanders quote, which by my calculation is about 86% false. The second is that Jesus would unequivocally support progressive political policies.

Bernie says that we have "a serious deficit problem." That is the only completely truthful statement in the quote.The rest are either factually inaccurate or pure political spin. The deficit was not caused by two unpaid for wars. That may not have helped, but they certainly didn't cause it. Neither did huge tax breaks for the wealthy. The truth is that entitlement spending, what Bernie conveniently labels as "the backs of the elderly, the sick, the children and the poor" is the primary driver behind the deficit.

The second statement that needs a balancing argument is what is implied by the graphic, and explicitly stated by The Christian Left ... that Jesus' ways are "Liberal." I've written before about Jesus in this blog ...  how he should not be labeled as politically liberal, how his message implies personal action and sharing, how I am suspect of political arguments that invoke Jesus  and about the fear that prevents spiritual and intellectual discovery. I've tried, in various approaches, despite my membership in an unquestionably "left" PC(USA) church, to think "out loud" through this blog about my faith, my political opinions and how they can be reconciled. Though primarily a personal exercise to develop some consistency between my spiritual and political beliefs, they do demonstrate that conservative political opinions can be consistent with Christian faith, despite what The Christian Left would have you believe.

I've been reading a book, Left, Right & Christ: Evangelical Faith in Politics, by Lisa Sharon Harper and D.C. Innes. Unlike The Christian Left, who condemn the political right and lay claim to complete knowledge of Jesus' political philosophy, this book is a theological discussion of political issues from both the Christian evangelical left (Harper) and right (Innes) perspectives. As you can see from the links above to previous blog posts, this is a topic I've thought about a lot. I bought the book to help me understand the politically left position of evangelical Christians and so far it is much more helpful and encouraging than anything from the Bernie Sanders fans.  Early in the book, in a discussion about the role of government, Innes writes the following:

If it were government's responsibility, even in part, to do the good deeds of society, people would gradually surrender more and more private responsibility to it. For its part, government would gladly expand to take responsibility for everything it possibly could. ... People would become ever more narrowly selfish and childishly dependent. Advocates of activist government would justify every new good work saying, "The government has to do this because people won't do it on their own." Of course, this is precisely what has been happening over the last hundred years. Where it ends is not the sort of noble liberty that God intends for his image-bearing vice-regents. At best, you get the control of well-meaning masters over grateful slaves, or some kind of happy human zoo [ed: My Brother's Keeper again?]. At worst, and more likely, you get the totalitarian rule of a self-serving administrative class over a docile people who have entirely forgotten how to provide for themselves.

The Christian Left posted Bernie's quote with the comment "Pretty sure we're going to post this every day for awhile. This truth needs to go viral. Please share." I don't believe it is truth, but here is something that is ... if you don't deliver your charity and compassion and care personally, if it doesn't require action and thought and personal committment, if you abdicate that responsibility to your government, your church, rich people or people who you think are gullible enough to do it for you then it is not honestly caring for the sick, the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, the stranger, the imprisoned. The truth is that the government is gladly expanding. It is taking over our responsibilities for raising our children, caring for our sick, providing for our elderly and we, predictably, are forgetting how to do it ourselves. Advocating for higher taxes on someone else does not make you a better Christian.

Love and War in Texas

Love and War in Texas isn't just a good restaurant in Plano or a Rusty Wier song, it's a pretty good description of what's happening around here these days. Everyday people and businesses love Texas and the economic and social environment it provides. The Obama administration, however, has all but declared war. Texas occupies a large part of this blog and my life. It is my home and my heritage and when someone attacks, it pisses me off, just like it would anyone when their home is threatened. Thank God and the U.S. Constitution that there's an election next year.

Twenty-five million people live in Texas and the population is predicted to grow anywhere from 9 to 18 million in the next 20 years, a pretty good indicator that it's a good place to live. The rest of the country is probably sick of hearing about jobs in Texas so quoting the statistics probably isn't helpful. What most people are not aware of is that Texas (the cheap bastards), despite what you've heard, is actually pretty darn good at public education and improving the environment. More interesting than any of this is why.

Yes, Texas has benefitted from increased oil prices, but they don't control the market. And yes, Texas managed the housing bust better than most because of better lending (and regulation) and realistic valuations. It's not just a lucky coincidence, though; the environment needs to be right for good things to happen. Individuals need the freedom to make decisions in their own best interest. That includes families and businesses, too. Texas is far from perfect, but based on how it is surviving economically and future prospects, it must be doing something right. Among the things Texas gets right ...

• it's a right-to-Work state with marginal political influence from labor unions
• operating costs are low, taxes are reasonable and regulation is relatively fair
• there is a generally pro-business attitude 
• housing and the cost of living are relatively low and fair
• the industrial base is diverse
• there is a culture of independence, self-sufficiency, competition and personal responsibility

There are quite a few states with these characteristics, and I would be happy to live in any of them, though Texas will always be home. Some states, however, don't look like this and I would not live in them because I like living in America. If I wanted to live in Europe, I'd move to the real place, not some Democrat euro-wannabe fantasy-land facsimile.

This is where the conflict begins. Obama proclaimed he wanted to fundamentally change America, and it appears he is attempting to do it by taking down Texas, a great example of what America can do. The Obama administration has clearly demonstrated what he meant by "fundamental change" and it is actually worse than I feared. If he doesn't believe in Texas, if he somehow thinks Texas is wrong or an outlier or the enemy, then he doesn't believe in America. To borrow a phrase from Mark Levin, "That's right. I said it."

Texans voted against Obama in 2008, as everyone, including Obama, knew they would. No one would have expected, however, that Texas would get targeted for punishment by the new president especially considering that Travis County, home of the liberal bastion Austin, had the second largest amount of contributions by county to the Obama campaign, second only to Cook County, Illinois. Is "targeted" too strong? It certainly doesn't seem too strong from here in sunny North Texas.

Google "obama texas vindictive" and you'll get nearly a million hits so obviously the idea of Texas being a target is not new or original. There are plenty of news items describing how this administration treats Texas. Let me save you some trouble. None of the items describe this treatment as fair or equitable. When you connect the dots all lines point to Obama, his statist ideology and his obvious dislike of my home.

• Obama gives a shout-out while the nation mourns ... let's not jump to conclusions though, it's Texas, it's probably some right wing nut job.
• Obama ignores Governor Perry's personal letter on immigration issues and has him hand it to Valerie "Slumlord" Jarrett.
• New York gets a retired space shuttle, but not Houston, home of the program
• Feds withhold Education Money for Texas and when it is finally, rightfully sent Democrats claim that Texas isn't doing that great because it accepts federal aid.
• The sagebrush lizard becomes the Texas version of California's delta smelt
• Thanks to your intimately close friends at the TSA, the feds threaten to shut down Texas airports
• Feds threaten to withold funds if Texas excludes Planned Parenthood from its Women's Health Program
• Texas given token financial support for wildfires by federal government
• $3 billion contract moved from Texas to Wisconsin
• Feds withhold grant money to Texas bus service due to Union dispute
• EPA rejects a successful Texas' flexible air quality permitting program
• Obama's offshore drilling permit moratorium costs Texas jobs 

Some would say these things are simply a return to 'normal' after the (highly debatable  and supposed) advantages Texas received under the Bush administration. Others argue that these things are deserved punishment for non-compliance rather than political retribution. Admittedly, Texas has always been a non-compliant kind of place. And some, of course, simply applaud and say "Well played, Obama!" To a Texan these stories are the poke, poke, poke in your chest from a school yard bully. Will the bully cross the line? Will the persecuted finally bow up ?

If the latest poke doesn't do it, it should.

The EPA has decided to include Texas in a new rule regulating sulfur dioxide emissions. Texas will be included despite the fact that the EPA's own studies showed that Texas was not contributing to higher SO2 levels in 'downwind' states. This was an 11th hour change, with no notification, no scientific justification and no opportunity to participate in the legally required public review and comment process. In short, the EPA, which is without question under the immediate and close direction of the Obama Administration, has chosen to arbitrarily enforce a puntive and undeserved regulation on Texas.

You may think, "What's the big deal? It's just another regulation." This one, however, is especially pernicious. It directly affects several key aspects of Texas' economic success. The significant details of its impact are described here and here, but the short version is that this new mandate will ...

• increase electricty rates by $1 billion per year
• significantly reduce electricity production capacity, hamstringing economic growth
• cost 14,000 jobs in coal and related industries inside Texas
• reduce state revenue
• increase the cost of living
• further destroy the line between state authority and federal demands

Call me part of the vast right wing conspiracy, but here's how I read it. Texas has demonstrated economic success with policies that are the anti-thesis of the Obama administration's. Obama does not tolerate alternative ideas or having his policies and ideology questioned. He is not going to win Texas regardless of what he does between now and the general election. The only way he can reduce the impact that 'The Texas Way' narrative will have in the 2012 campaign, which could be crucial in swing states and with independent (mainstream media, unthinking) voters, is to take the legs out from under the Texas economy, force it to stumble in time for the election. This under cutting can't be too obvious, there's no sense in creating a public dust-up on something major that might grab headlines, so why not use the minions at the EPA to provide distance and cover? It can be implemented quickly (an 11th hour change), without discussion or coverage (no public review and comment) and few outside of Texas will be aware of it (the technical and scientific issues are too daunting for the typical 30 second story on the CBS Evening News ... as if).

Is my reading far-fetched? Perhaps, but here's another nugget of information regarding this supposedly objective EPA decision. Just as Texas was added to the mandate at the last minute several other states were dropped, including Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, despite all of them being part of the initial reports and plans and despite them collectively contributing much more to the problem. Four blue and two swing. Imagine that. An unexpected turn of events, don't you think?

Am I too cynical, too paranoid? Maybe. Are there any blue states that have received treatment similar to Texas under this administration? If so, that still doesn't justify Obama's treatment of Texas, and it would only prove that Texas has not been singled out, that there is more than one target in his undeclared war. These incidents, and my interpretation of them, prove nothing except for the fact that Texas has and will suffer under this administration. Given this fact, I can see only a few possible explanations for Obama's actions.

• The suffering is entirely unintentional, an unforeseen consequence of policies that were truly intended to be a benefit. If that is the case, Obama is incompetent.
• The suffering is entirely intentional and the punishment is deserved. If that is the case, Obama is a ruler, not a leader of free people, enforcing his will through bureaucracy and executive order, ignoring the people, eroding the republic and denying our God-given rights.
• Some of the punishment is intentional, some is incidental. If that is the case, Obama is simply arrogant and petty. Arrogant because he is unconcerned about the incidental suffering, and petty because he, like every bully, builds himself up by keeping someone else down.

My Texas sensitivities obviously affect my perspective. Putting those aside it's easy to see that Texas is not the only target. Israel, Rush Limbaugh, small business owners, non-union workers, women, the unborn, the insurance industry, doctors, Fox News, Great Britain, the Cambridge police, Republicans, corpsmen, Sarah Palin, clingers, minority students in DC, citizens living on the border, double income families, those who like their health insurance, those who believe marriage is between one man and one woman, tax payers, Supreme Court Justices, Las Vegas, white voters in Philadelphia, market proven energy companies, those affected by the individual mandate, medicare and medicaid recipients, those counting on Social Security, children and grand-children ... all of these and more have been in Obama's cross-hairs  The question is, do they know it and are they willing to win this war by voting him out of office.