tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50543433426389843912023-11-15T08:23:46.253-06:00poligionpō-ˈli-jənLarry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comBlogger732125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-38752371408708836432022-11-10T02:36:00.004-06:002022-11-10T02:36:39.826-06:00We did it again<p>Yesterday, the day after Election Day, I made a bet with
myself that all elections not yet decided will go Democrat. I can revise that modestly. All the elections needed to retain the House
and Senate will go blue.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now I realized that we have elections that will take weeks
to decide, but all elections must be certified by December 14.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So any election that doesn’t look right,
there won’t be enough time to verify or contest the results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All ballots should be in and counted on Election Day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now we have races where we know exactly how
many votes are needed to decide a contested race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You watch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There will
be a lot of elections that will defy all expectations, but you won’t be able to
challenge them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even now, with record high inflation, millions of unvetted people
entering our country, fights in schools and education all across the country,
the balance of power always, ALWAYS shifts, but now it’s close?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any bets that the Democrats keep both the
House and the Senate?<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-42768302215738818032022-10-04T13:28:00.000-05:002022-10-04T13:28:00.228-05:00Electing our Presidents by the Popular Vote<p>I understand the push to elect Presidents through the
popular vote. I disagree with it, but I
understand why they want this. (Actually
small states lose out, October 3)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I find it noteworthy that they are not attempting to reform
the system through a Constitutional Amendment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That would show whether the country as a whole was in favor of the
idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is, however, one fatal flaw in their plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fatal in the sense that they are willing to
break the core principles of democracy in order to save it, or, to get what
they want.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Under our current electoral system, voters essentially are
voting for electors, not the President himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These electors have all agreed to vote for a particular candidate if he
wins.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Under this new proposal, if the voters of a state chose the
candidate with fewer overall votes than the other candidate, the state would
then nullify all their votes and accept all the electors of the losing
candidate.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m sorry, but that is simply wrong.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">UNLESS<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Every election, on that same ballot, you will need to ask
the voters if they will agree to that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then you have that right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But to
get so many states to agree to this, and then allow this system to perpetuate
forever is absurd and contrary to every principle of democracy they claim to
uphold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-48290733611589713322022-10-04T13:26:00.004-05:002022-10-04T13:26:46.532-05:00How to fund public education better<p>Two-thirds of your property taxes in Illinois go for funding
public education. Not surprisingly,
poorer areas don’t seem to get enough funding for their schools. (Illinois criticized over school funding
equity, October 3)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If they take money from wealthier areas to give to the
poorer ones, then property taxes will go even higher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may say that the wealthy can afford
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But property taxes aren’t based on
your income.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Property taxes don’t take
into account a person’s ability to pay for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">People retire or lose jobs and then live on fixed incomes or
their savings, but property taxes just keep going up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People shouldn’t have to move because of high
property taxes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have proposed a solution to this for decades.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let the state determine a per student allocation for public
education.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Raise this through the income
tax.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This must be kept separate from the
general income tax in every way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Local
school districts would be allowed to raise additional taxes however they
will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This plan will reduce overall
property taxes and equitably fund all our public schools.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We must also allow parents who send their kids to private
schools a deduction on their taxes for their expenses up to the amount they
would have paid for public schools.<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-3833993719892105592022-09-26T17:50:00.004-05:002022-09-26T17:50:37.112-05:00Jesus and government policies<p>Years ago, it was commonly asked, What would Jesus do? There were even bracelets with four little
cubes on them with the letters – WWJD.
(what would Jesus do?)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Church in America is divided over the fact that we have
millions of people walking into our country looking for a better life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does this mean that our government should
just take care of them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They are not legal immigrants whom we have vetted, and whom we
have some idea how they will assimilate into our country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most do not speak our language.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our government is $31 trillion in debt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are millions more refugees around the world,
and billions of people less well off than any American.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you are a Christian, how much debt are you going into in
order to feed, clothe, and care for needy people?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jesus did mention a few times about people selling their
possessions and giving to the poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
the early Church did that for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But the Bible also frowns upon being in debt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But actually the bigger problem is that we have no idea who
is coming into our country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
apprehended known terrorists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Did Jesus mean that we should open our country up to anybody
in the world who can get here, and we will take care of them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The fact is that the border situation is entirely out of
control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People can be bringing in
deadly transmittable diseases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
could be enemy agents seeking to wreak terror and havoc throughout our
country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With all the government benefits that we are providing for
them, any poor person can come here and be better off than they were at home,
and they wouldn’t even have to work for it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The job of our elected leaders is to take care of the
American people above those of other countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Like your family takes care of your own children before you take care of
the other kids on the block.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That doesn’t
mean that you hate all the other kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
just hope your neighbors are taking care of their own kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The role of our government is, among other things, 1) to form
a more perfect Union.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are more
divided than at any time in our history, and the government is responsible for
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least they are doing nothing to
slow that down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ensure domestic tranquility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our government is fomenting hate and division
as it tries to indoctrinate our children to despise our country and by constantly
focusing on race and all the bad things in our past so that we lose sight of all
that is good in our country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3) promote
the general welfare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This doesn’t mean
giving people money; it means promoting policies that create jobs and help the
people prosper, like not spending our public money irresponsibly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our government is putting the needs and wants of the citizens
of other countries over that of its own. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our refugee program has gone far beyond people
fleeing mortal danger but extends now to pretty much anybody wanting a better
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And our government provides any
person coming here with much better living conditions than if they had stayed
in their own country, so two million people have come this year alone. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the old days, people came here for the freedom and
opportunities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now they come because we
will take care of them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The American people are the most generous people in the
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just don’t like our government
borrowing money it won’t pay back, so we are now paying a trillion dollars a
year just in interest.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We don’t like our government not thinking about the safety
of our country by just letting the border stand wide open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everybody has doors on their houses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With locks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Many have fences around their property.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not only are we letting whoever wants to to come in, but we will put
them up in nice hotels at other people’s expense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The government has no money but what it takes
from other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is not
compassion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is irresponsible, reckless
spending.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Compassion is when you give to others out of your own possessions
and money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not compassion to take
somebody else’s credit cards and just doling it out so lavishly that you are
drawing more crowds who want the same things.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-11018266585373825452022-09-25T11:50:00.000-05:002022-09-25T11:50:25.835-05:00Changing the Way We Elect our Presidents<p>There is a push today to change the way we elect our
Presidents. In the current system, a
person can be elected President who does not receive the majority of all the
votes of all those who voted. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our Founders, profound students of history, rejected both
the idea of direct democracy for our country and the popular vote for the
President.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are a republic and not a
democracy, and states elect the President and not individuals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Since the President is President of all the United STATES,
they wanted to be sure that all the states had a voice in the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only way to do that is by the Electoral
College.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In this new plan, states would give all their electoral
votes to the Presidential candidate who got the most votes overall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meaning, that even if most of the people in
your state voted for the other candidate, that is to say, most of the people in
your state voted for the electors of the other candidate, they will simply
nullify your vote and choose different electors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And somehow this is better.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I saw a map recently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><a href="https://www.exploredplanet.com/guides/maps-that-show-us-a-new-perspective/?utm_source=mr&utm_campaign=ovo-dtm-us-r-0-0-220914-ep-mr-a0&utm_medium=e6am918=msn-mr&utm_content=blank&utm_term=1&edg-c=1">Maps
That Put The World In Perspective - Explored Planet</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It shows the United States in red and
gray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably 95% of the map is
gray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are more people living in
the 5% red areas than the 95% gray area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In other words, people who live in cities will elect our Presidents, and
those in rural areas and smaller towns, not so much if at all.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our country is currently in the midst of a social and
political upheaval.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beware of any
comprehensive, major moves to change big things, particularly through attempts
to get around things our country was built on, like the Constitution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If this is so popular, pass a Constitutional Amendment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is how you’re supposed to change the
system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This plan will override the
votes of the majority of the people in a state to get what they want here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re creating a bigger problem than the one
you want to fix.<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-31416081080662962022022-09-18T11:59:00.003-05:002022-09-18T11:59:37.645-05:00So what do we do with thousands of people a day coming into our country?<p>Sometimes I see an article in the newspapers that seems so
absurd, I feel like I have to say something, but then surely the average reader
would have seen the absurdity of it, so there is no need for me to point it
out.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But then when both Chicago papers say the same thing and
more than once, somebody is failing to see the bigger picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(trib (Our immigration mess needs an
overhaul, not DeSantis’ stunts, September 18) (Time Texas Gov. Abbott sends
asylum seekers here to sow chaos, but Illinois is better than that, September
18)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Over 2 million people have entered our country in the last
year outside of our visa program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
just walked right in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Millions more if
you go back a few decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We used to
call them illegal immigrants, but they have been taught to claim asylum, so
that practically speaking, most of them are going to get to stay here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Court dates are now years away, and most
don’t come back to court anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Most of these have crossed the border through Texas and
Arizona.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The border states have asked
for help from the federal government for decades to do something to stem the
flood of people coming into their states.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And the federal government has done nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The rest of the country is essentially oblivious to all of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t affect them directly, and the news
media give it very little attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh,
they may show a few short videos of people crossing the border, but they don’t
show the impact on the state in which they are entering.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What do you do with thousands of people a day who are
entering your state and expecting people to take care of them?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some governors of the border states have started shipping
some of them to areas that seem the least concerned about this massive influx
of human beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so many people are calling all this a stunt, a cheap
political trick close to an election.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A stunt?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
trick?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hell, no!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Congress and many politicians around the country don’t see
any problem with millions of people whom we don’t even know who they are just
walking into our country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They complain
about a couple hundred migrants being dropped off at their door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like, what are we supposed to do with them?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am as compassionate as anybody about the plight of poor,
disadvantaged people, but if you don’t see a problem or two here, then you
shouldn’t be making our laws or writing editorials in newspapers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sometimes I think we should just annex Mexico and half of
Central America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We would need to give
them 10-20 years before granting full statehood, but I think it’s something to
consider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whatever Congress decides to do, I think shipping migrants
to certain key places around the country may be the only way to get Congress to
act.<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-83821987968714381452022-09-17T15:08:00.000-05:002022-09-17T15:08:01.209-05:00Deciding How to Vote in the Upcoming Election<p>I don’t like to talk about political parties. It draws lines in the wrong places. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I like to talk about ideas and policies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ideas and policies should be discussed on
their own merits apart from political parties and labels.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In less than two months, we are going to have another
election.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you watch television or
read newspapers, you can easily think that this election is and should be decided
on the basis of one issue: abortion.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I think we should take a broader look at what this election
is all about.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you think babies are disposable like a litter of puppies
or kittens, when unborn children can be killed for any reason up until the time
they are born, then, by all means, yes, you need to vote Democratic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Republicans can’t always get the details
right, but they believe abortion cheapens human life, and they think our
society has enough of that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the last year, we have had 2 million people enter our
country illegally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, many of them
claim to be refugees, but then they have been taught to say that, and practically
speaking, almost all illegal immigrants are here to stay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, many of them are nice people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem is that we don’t know who’s
coming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No background checks, no medical
exams.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you have a problem with any of this, you’re going to have
to vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you believe that a country has the responsibility to know
who is coming into it to live and whether they have any serious diseases or
evil intents, you’re going to have to vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We are having the highest inflation in 40 years, due to our
government spending trillions of dollars it doesn’t have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are also spending a trillion dollars a
year just to pay interest on our federal debt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is like burning a trillion dollars a year.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you have a problem with that, you’re going to have to
vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our federal government is $31 trillion in debt, and that
debt is growing rapidly, and the government is not even trying to stop it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you have a problem with any of this, you’re going to have
to vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Violent crime and general lawlessness is out of hand in our
country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Police are demoralized and
understaffed all across our country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Criminals
and other violent people are less worried about the repercussions of their
crimes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you have a problem with that, you’re going to have to
vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The federal guidelines for sex education in our public schools
normalizes all sexual behavior and encourages your young children to question
and explore their sexual behavior and gender at the youngest ages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Schools and politicians want to facilitate
any gender transitioning and will do this without the knowledge and consent of
the student’s parents if necessary.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you have a problem with schools sexualizing your
children, you’re going to have to vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you like the United States being energy independent, and
where we don’t have to buy energy from unfriendly or unreliable sources, and
heating, electricity, and gas prices being affordable, you’re going to have to
vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you are proud to be an American, if you think the United States
is the greatest country in the history of the world, if you believe in the American
Dream, you’re going to have to vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you believe that society should be color blind, that
people should be judged on the quality of their character and not the color of
their skin, then you’re going to have to vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you believe the best qualified people should get the job,
you going to have to vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you believe in God, the Ten Commandments as our rule of
life, if you believe our rights come from God, then you’re going to have to
vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you believe in the freedom of speech, where you are able
to express your opinions freely, where we can openly talk about touchy
subjects, where we can disagree and not be considered hateful, then you’re going
to have to vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you believe in the right to be armed, to protect your
life, your property, and your freedom, you’re going to have to vote Republican.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In Illinois, the state is essentially bankrupt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is on a trajectory of exponentially
increasing debt due to the pension clause in the State Constitution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will force every increasing tax burdens
to pay for this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you think this problem should be fixed, you’re going to
have to vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you live in Illinois, you will be asked to vote on a
Constitutional Amendment to support workers’ rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What they’re not telling you is that this
Amendment was written primarily for government employees more than private
ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In Illinois, if you think politicians are enriching themselves
and using government workers to solidify their control by enriching them all at
taxpayer expense, then you’re going to have to vote Republican.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Years ago, choosing candidates to vote for was often a
difficult task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Politicians have made voting
a lot easier today.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-87429086683605462362022-09-12T07:28:00.001-05:002022-09-12T07:28:04.621-05:00Extremism<p>We describe our political parties as right and left. If I were on the left, I would complain about
that, because right has another meaning than simply pointing in a certain
direction.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those on the right are routinely called extremists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are not merely right, but far
right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Barry Goldwater, the Republican candidate for President in
1964, is often cited even today as the epitome of extremism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His acceptance speech at the Republican
National Convention is still quoted today:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit
of justice is no virtue.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And, of course, Barry Goldwater is not the primary target
here that we are being warned about.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But let me tell you what I find extreme today in politics.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I think it is extreme when we allow anybody who shows up at
our border into our country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No background
checks, no medical exams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we put
them up in hotels and give them public money to live on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did they ask anybody if they should do this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have allowed over 2 million people to come
into our country this year alone, but one party insists, they encourage, people
from all over the world to just come in, and we don’t know who they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And nobody cares, and nobody wants you to
know about this.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I think it’s extreme that so many people think they have a
right to kill their unborn babies, and they will loudly and threateningly
protest this in the streets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember
the protests in front of the houses of the Supreme Court justices?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In America, our rights come from God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You think God regards human life as disposable?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other rights are only what is legal or
things the government decides to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Government
can’t create rights, because government can just as well eliminate that right.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I think it’s extreme that there is no limit to government spending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are now $31 trillion in debt, and nobody
cares.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least one political
party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spend a trillion dollars a
year just to pay interest on that debt. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s essentially wasting a trillion dollars
a year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s insane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And I think it is extreme to erase the very idea of sex and
replace it with gender identity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
same people who have been insisting for the last two years to follow the science
now want to deny science to normalize what can only be described as an aberration
of the highest sort.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And these are the people who criticize the other party for
being extreme.<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-70617808305620147862022-09-11T10:28:00.002-05:002022-09-11T10:28:16.773-05:00microaggressions<p>Reading a newspaper is an exercise in self-restraint and time
management. Most times the headlines
tell me all I need to know, including how much time I should spend on the
article.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Today we had Finding a haven – and microaggression – in greater
Bronzeville.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(September 11)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I did read the first three paragraphs, but it didn’t hold my
interest.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The title did, which is why I am writing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The key word here is microaggression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Note the first part – micro.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That means something that is really, really
tiny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things that normally we would just
overlook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But today people are looking
for reasons to be offended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s sad.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you want a perfect world, you will have to wait for
heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But wait.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hear they discriminate there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They don’t just let everybody into
heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then it wouldn’t be heaven,
would it?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We live in America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The freest country in the history of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With freedom comes messy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact is that not everybody is going to
like you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For whatever reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want to make sure that nobody is able
to express any displeasure with another person, you can simply cut those
freedoms in half.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And hire a lot of people
to go around looking for and punishing those offenders, and then you find your
economic freedom diminished too through ever-increasing taxes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our country’s moral code used to be the Ten
Commandments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are prohibitions
against stealing, killing, adultery, lying, and coveting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we did none of those things, our society
would be a lot better off than it is now.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Micro-aggressions, selfishness, unkindness, and spite didn’t
make the list.<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-1631330476844366182022-09-11T10:06:00.003-05:002022-09-11T10:06:57.915-05:00The Workers' Rights Amendment<p>So the Tribune prints two letters in favor of the Workers’
Rights Amendment with none opposing, suggesting that any sound person would
support this. (I support Workers’ Rights
Amendment, Fearmongering over amendment, September 11)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In general, workers’ rights are good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is not mentioned is that this Amendment
also covers public sector workers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Private
sector employers always have both feet in reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They know just how much they can afford to
pay workers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Public sector employers have
no such limitation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have no sense
of money or fiscal responsibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Going
into ever-deeper debt is always good political policy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our state is essentially bankrupt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s forbidden by law I believe to actually
say so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its pension clause, also a
Constitutional Amendment, guarantees that all our taxes will continue to grow exponentially.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This proposed Amendment is another safeguard against any
possible reforms to Illinois’ financial crisis and mismanagement.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-27150760597762785692022-09-04T20:30:00.000-05:002022-09-04T20:30:00.603-05:00The Workers Rights Amendment <p>In the November election this fall, the Workers Rights
Amendment will appear on the ballot in Illinois. If you don’t live in Illinois, you should be
aware of this, because it may come to your state.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the surface, it sounds like a wonderful idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It champions the idea that workers should
have the right to organize in order to negotiate their working conditions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I worked in union shops much of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I like unions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The problem is with unions of government employees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The workers theoretically have that same
right, but who are they negotiating their conditions with?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Private sector employers are bound by fiscal reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They cannot pay what they can’t afford.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Government no longer sees that as a problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will make promises well beyond their
revenues, or what they can afford, and then borrow the money as long as they can
before they have to raise taxes again, and they will say, well, people voted overwhelmingly
in favor of workers rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They didn’t tell the voters the full ramifications of what
they were voting for.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 1970, Illinois passed a provision in its state Constitution
that is currently bankrupting the state, a clause about government
pensions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The state promised money they
couldn’t afford.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now there is pressure
on state taxes, income and property, to pay for mounting pension debt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In typical government fashion, they want to make a blanket
ironclad rule that applies to everybody without telling you about the cases
where this could be a real problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am afraid this Amendment will pass, because people see the
good but not the whole picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like
telling everybody that everybody has a right to a higher education.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds good until you figure out how to pay
for it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In reality, this is people in government taking advantage of
the system to enrich themselves and fellow government workers who will then work
and contribute to keep those first people in office so they can further enrich
themselves at the public’s expense.<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-22970519226947956782022-08-12T11:20:00.001-05:002022-08-12T11:20:12.525-05:00Sex Education in Public Schools<p>The Federal Government wants to be involved in the sexual education
of your child. They have written their
standards for this education, and Illinois was one of the first states to adopt
them. If you live in other states, you
might want to see where your state stands on this issue. The Federal Government didn’t write them for
itself. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This doesn’t mean that every public school in Illinois will
use them, but you should assume they do until proven otherwise.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You should know what they are, and if you know parents of
children in public education, if you care about any of them, you might want to
talk to them about this.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The new standards tell our kids that there is no such thing
as normative sex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vaginal, anal, and
oral sex are all equal sexual relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So essentially kids have to try them all to see which they like best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would expect that biology would at least
suggest that sexual organs are reproductive organs, but in fact they are merely
pleasure tools for instant gratification.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If by chance a pregnancy occurs, no worry, we have an answer for that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They are taught that sex was “assigned” at birth, and, really,
they shouldn’t have done that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only you
know what gender or sex you are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They are conflating gender with sex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe not all at once, but that’s the
goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boys can have vaginas, and girls
can have penises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By the end of second grade, they want to diminish the value
of the nuclear family by equating it with every variation and combination of
adults.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Essentially, the idea is to affirm
that a nuclear family is not necessarily something they should strive for or
even want to have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not better than
other forms of family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are other
options just as good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So begin thinking
about them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They will also know the meaning of gender and gender identity,
but it’s not your parent’s idea of gender.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Gender and biology are distinct from each other.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By fifth grade, they will learn to “distinguish between sex
assigned at birth and gender identity” and “how they may or may not differ.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They will “define sexual orientation” and “differentiate
between sexual orientation and gender identity.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And they will also learn “the range of ways
pregnancy can occur.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No need to limit
your thinking to the traditional way. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The entire idea of male and female, man and woman, is
outdated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The concept of marriage
between a man and a woman is just stereotypical and harmful to portray that as
the ideal.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But actually the worst part of all this is that children are
essentially being asked to choose a gender identity and sexual orientation long
before they have ever even given any thought to whether they want children of
their own, and before they even reach puberty and they see how they respond to
the opposite sex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I consider that criminal child abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, school districts can opt out of the program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have learned from a former health teacher
in middle school in Illinois that the administration hid much of this information
from the parents, so they did not know what they were getting when they opted
in for the program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might want to
check on that too.<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-30482951639998168152022-08-04T11:36:00.002-05:002022-08-04T11:36:21.670-05:00Another look at religion and government<p>A reader of a local newspaper had a strong reaction against
Darren Bailey, the Republican candidate for governor. She felt that Bailey was injecting his religious
beliefs into public policy. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This reader is an abortion advocate, and she cites the Talmud
as justification for her beliefs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
essentially her religion formed her opinion on a public policy issue, and she
is doing what she thinks Bailey should not.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We use the word ‘religion’ often when discussing politics,
but I don’t think we fully understand what religion is.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yes, a religion is a system of beliefs about God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that is a very narrow understanding of
it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A religion is a worldview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s an all-encompassing description of life, what is good, what is bad,
what is right, what is wrong, what is truth, what is false, what are the rules,
are there any rules.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The fact is that everybody has a worldview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every country has a worldview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a system of beliefs that guide how it
governs itself.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Religions are worldviews that include God as being a part of
reality, actually a major part of reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our country is trying to impose a worldview on everybody
that doesn’t include God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And a lot of
people are having a problem with that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The reader’s worldview says that preborn babies are nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Bible puts an enormous value on preborn
children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only are they created in the
image of God, but their whole future lives are already seen in God’s eyes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So who is trying to impose whose worldview on the rest of
us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She thinks that this only affects
individual women facing an unwanted pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But it doesn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a total
devaluing of human life that can translate into, for example, violence toward
other people, because we don’t see them as being in the image of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life is disposable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Worldviews affect everything, from what should be taught in
our public schools, the role of government and government spending, the propriety
of private property, and the value of human life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s hard to teach our kids the value of human
life apart from religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Science can’t tell us the value of a human life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All it can say is that life is an accident of
nature, and the only purpose to life is to reproduce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life is also about the survival of the
fittest, and all the countries that have embraced atheism have killed millions of
their own people because they didn’t fit into their scheme of things, and they
have been the most intolerant of those people who did believe in God.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We have representative government, and people who have a
religious worldview have as much right to representation as any one else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there are differences of opinion, then let’s
talk about them and try to understand why other people think the way they
do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-52413366315107949312022-08-03T16:44:00.002-05:002022-08-03T16:44:14.488-05:00Climate Change: cause and cure<p>The climate is the most serious problem in the world right
now. Even more serious than racism. I think.
But I’m white, so I could be wrong.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The single most important cause of climate change is carbon
dioxide.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The recommended solution for this is to upend the entire world’s
economy and reduce most of the world to poverty and starvation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Meanwhile, nobody is talking about the simplest way to reduce
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Plant trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trees
use carbon dioxide for food and release oxygen as waste.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a deal!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If this is the crisis this is, then we cannot rely on just one
means of tackling the problem: the elimination of fossil fuels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must do everything possible.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like, plant a billion trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I remember years ago when I was attending college in the
city and was sent to a clinic in Evanston.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I got off the train, and immediately I was struck by the freshness of
the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trees make a significant,
noticeable difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My question is: if this is so serious, why is nobody,
nobody, talking about doing this?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our earth went through a mini-Ice Age from around 1000 A.D.
to 1500 A.D.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When all that ice was
melting, and everyone was experiencing record hot temperatures and rising sea
levels, I wonder if people were worrying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-49641312619647485502022-08-03T11:52:00.003-05:002022-08-03T11:52:49.678-05:00Hate the Haters<p>Sometimes I think our society has gone completely stupid. We are constantly looking for things that people
have said that we can construe to be wrong or hateful, and then we try our best
to publicly shame them and ruin their lives.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We bemoan the current hatred in our society, but then we don’t
try to alleviate it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We look ourselves
for people to hate and destroy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Recently it was reported that the Republican candidate for
governor in Illinois compared abortion to the Holocaust 5 years ago, and for
this he must be publicly shamed and denied his run for office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was considered front page news.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Again, as is done so often, we see a three second clip of
something and act as if that is the entire story.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bailey compared the Holocaust to abortion and thinks that abortion
is worse, or something like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have
no doubt that what he was talking about was that we have already killed over 62
million preborn children so far, and we are rioting in the streets to make sure
that we have the right to continue doing this without any constraints.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We know the Holocaust was pure evil, and Bailey does
too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t mention the Holocaust in
order to minimize it, but to associate with what he considers another evil.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We can see the pictures of the Holocaust and read the books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A whole nation was intent on the destruction
of another people entirely because of their ethnicity.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Abortion is different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We don’t have pictures of all the aborted babies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They don’t have names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their lives are considered of little value
because they are small, and, in many cases, not even fully formed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These killings happen one at a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the murders in Chicago that happen day
in and day out don’t get the same attention as when somebody kills a bunch of people
at the same time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We routinely get a dozen murders every week in Chicago, but
they are mostly killed one at a time, so they matter less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Less outrage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Less news.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those of us who believe in the Bible know that God values
human life before it is born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has
called people into His service before they were born, and our entire lives are
known to Him before we are born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forgive
us for valuing what we believe God values.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But this letter is less about abortion as it is about our
quest to demonize people at every opportunity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We need people to be angry at, to vilify, to contrast with our own
virtue, because we know all the right things to be angry about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We hate the haters, and somehow that is supposed to make
society better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-42867142092733591192022-07-29T10:29:00.002-05:002022-07-29T10:29:25.962-05:00The dumbest, most inconsiderate, unproductive, evil thing that Congress does<p>We often hear the call for bipartisanship in Congress. We are told that we need to compromise and
work together to solve our problems. And
when things don’t get done, we blame politicians for putting party and politics
over a genuine concern for our country.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The latest bill before Congress shows where the real problem
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Dems report ‘uniformly positive’
reaction to climate, tax, health bill, July 29)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This bill is 725 pages long and covers taxes, energy,
environment, prescription drug prices, and health care assistance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And those are only the things that the
Sun-Times mentioned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Compromise is, say, we are debating a speed limit bill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You want 65 and I want 55.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A compromise would be 60.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Compromise is not voting for what you don’t
want to get what you do.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How will Congress debate this bill?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do you debate a bill that is 700 pages
long and covers at least 5 totally different subjects?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can’t, and they know this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is why they do that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They don’t want these things to be debated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They negotiate these things in private offering
incentives for votes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This bill should be broken down into at least 5 parts and
debated individually.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They know that
half of this will never get passed unless they put it with something that they
know has to pass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is corrupt,
unconscionable, and criminal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a
breach of the public trust.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-13165760374111601692022-07-29T10:28:00.005-05:002022-07-29T10:28:41.008-05:00why not replace lost rain forests?<p>Everything is on fire.
At least that’s what the Tribune says.
(Everything is on fire. It doesn’t
have to be. July 29)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The article notes that Congo has the world’s second largest rain
forest, and Congo is happy to destroy what they can of it to make life better for
them in the short run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world’s
largest rain forest, in Brazil, has been suffering the same fate for decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These rain forests have a very positive effect on the world’s
climate, so their loss or even their partial loss hurts all of us.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If their loss has a measurable negative impact on the rest
of the world, then it is incumbent on the rest of the world to start planting
trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Billions of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All over the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I hear that this climate thing is a crisis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why am I not hearing calls equally loud to plant
trees?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Someone told me that planting trees won’t make a difference,
yet everybody is trying to get everybody to do their part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the efforts of individuals are important
in the fight to save the climate, then surely the efforts of governments to
plant billions of trees will have a major impact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When I don’t hear of or see the calls to plant trees, I wonder
if there really is a crisis or if our leaders really believe there is.<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-85661375791163614762022-07-28T15:46:00.002-05:002022-07-28T15:46:31.282-05:00Another Look at Gay Marriage <p>There are concerns today that the Supreme Court will nullify
the right of gay people to get married. The
Court doesn’t think you should apply the Constitution to controversial issues
that were never in the minds of those who wrote it or any of the later
Amendments. If people think this is a
right, then Congress can make a law saying as much.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the issue should really be called same-sex marriage and
not gay marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nobody cares or asks
whether a person is gay before they get married.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The issue is whether two people of the same
sex can have a relationship that can and should be called a marriage. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is a new thing in human history, and is it a right as
well?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This whole matter has raised the
question of what exactly is a marriage in the first place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is marriage just a word that we give to a
relationship where people love each other and decide to live together, and we
give that a legal status so they can have visitation rights and other
privileges only defined for family members.?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why is the definition of marriage even important?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who cares?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What difference does it make?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A healthy society needs to reproduce at least enough people to
maintain its population. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When reproductive
levels fall too low, societies shrink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They get older, and that places financial stress on that society,
because it has to take care of the elderly with relatively fewer people to pay
for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the advances of modern
medicine, we have a vastly increasing senior population, and we have a shrinking
pool of workers able to support them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
society has been below replacement value for a long time now. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That was the main point of marriage, the creation of
biological families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, of course, marriage
was encouraged prior to the fact of having any children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After they had children was too late to start
asking those questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, not all
marriages end up that way, but we won’t know that until after the
marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A society also needs to encourage the things that make for an
optimal upbringing of these new generations to become productive members of
society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Historically, marriage has been
about the relationship of a man and a woman, not only because that is how children
are created, but because this couple also united to raise them until the children
could take care of themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike
animals, these children required an enormous amount of time and energy to make
all this happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marriage was to ensure that
the two adults involved would work together to do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Parents are like lifelong one-on-one tutors, mentors, role-models,
and caregivers but at no cost to society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So it is in society’s interest to encourage people to get married and
have children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But do people need to get married to have children?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Technically, no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But having children as a single parent is a
very difficult undertaking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s one of
the leading causes of poverty, and these children are at a greater risk for all
kinds of adverse outcomes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it is in
the interests of society that children grow up in a two parent household.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We do know that same sex couples cannot create children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Same-sex couples often want to have their own
children, but in order to do that, they have to remove one of the child’s
natural parents from its life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is
not good, and we shouldn’t pretend that it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We also know that role models are important in a child’s life, but in
same sex couples, should we then try to limit them to having only same sex
children?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And how would we do that?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We stretch the meaning of family today to include any number
of different arrangements, but biological ties still remain the ideal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rest are simply adjustments to a
breakdown in that, for whatever reason, usually a death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because a healthy society requires new generations
of contributing members, the health of families is a proper and important concern
of society.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When we legalize same-sex marriage, we are also normalizing
it, and we are telling our children that same-sex marriage is just as good as
regular marriage, and homosexual relationships are just as good as heterosexual
ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our public schools are even encouraging
children today, long before they have ever given any thought to whether they
want to have children of their own or if sexual relationships have any meaning
apart from personal pleasure, and even before they have reached puberty, to
decide what gender they want to be and what sexual orientation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some will say that this is only a matter of self-discovery, but
they are encouraging children to experiment with all the various possibilities
and decide now the entire course of the rest of their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are being taught that one way is not
better than another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And they are
teaching sex apart from even loving relationships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s just something that gives you pleasure,
and you need to decide which way you like best, and that will define whether
you are gay, straight, and any of a number of other possibilities.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In recent times, after our country threw off its religious
associations which stigmatized homosexuality, people were more open about these
kinds of relationships, and certain problems developed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were in undefined relationships with no
legal status.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So visitation rights were
non-existent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inheritances were
non-existent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some areas created a legal
status for these relationships, so they could be listed as family or next of
kin.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Which is fine.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the goal was not legal status, though they wanted that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heck, it was never really about privacy
either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were told that what people do
alone in their homes doesn’t affect you and needn’t concern you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People should be free to love whomever they
will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that was not it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was about something more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was about equality, just like ‘separate but equal’ was deemed
inherently unequal. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A separate category
was deemed as second-class status, and that was unacceptable.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But we have to ask what equality means.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To use a rough analogy: if we call a bicycle a vehicle, then
is a Schwinn equal to a Ford Explorer, since they are both vehicles, and should
they have equal access on a highway?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To
limit Schwinns to a narrow strip on the side of some roads is discriminatory
and unequal, and that becomes wrong.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Equality can mean equal status.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were civil unions that were created to
provide legal status and rights to same-sex couples, but that was not enough.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But what was wanted was equality in value, such as one is as
good as the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no preferred
choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like chocolate and vanilla.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One is not right and the other wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s all just a matter of personal
preference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And they will insist, this
preference is built into our very natures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not only is it to be deemed equal, but you better damn well
like it too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Otherwise, we will put you
out of business if you don’t.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our presumed secular society will no longer stigmatize
same-sex relationships, however they are named, but equality is a term that is
misleading and inaccurate, particularly when we talk to our children about
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These kinds of relationships are best left for adults to
consider, after people are fully aware of the ramifications of committing their
lives to people of the same sex.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But, no, same-sex marriage is not a Constitutional
right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can’t decide or determine what
the Constitution or any of its Amendments means in situations totally unlike
anything that those who wrote them would have even thought about when they were
written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a matter left to our
legislative bodies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a totally
new thing in history, and we need to talk about it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-65215582057333018832022-07-27T10:26:00.004-05:002022-07-27T10:26:28.015-05:00saving our democracy<p>I appreciated reading Arne Duncan’s thoughts on saving our
democracy. (Democracy won’t save itself,
July 27) It’s important that we discuss ways
to improve things.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He has three main recommendations for us:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>He believes voting should
be mandatory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before we do that, I think
we should look into why people don’t vote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If they are just lazy and don’t care, then I don’t think I want them to
vote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They probably wouldn’t look past
the politician who gave them the most freebies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They would be bought with their own money.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Maybe there are problems with our election
system that we are ignoring.</p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">2)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span dir="LTR" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">He favors having non-partisan
primaries, like they have in Chicago, with the top two vote-getters pairing off
in a runoff if one is needed.</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">There are two problems with this:</p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>The first is that in a
non-partisan primary, candidates don’t declare their party alignment, and that
is the single most defining piece of information we need on a candidate.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Chicago had a runoff in
their last mayoral election, and the top two vote-getters in the primary each
got less than 20% of the vote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
means that more than 4 out of 5 voters didn’t vote for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet one of them won the election.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto;">That is simply wrong. With that
many candidates, you need to have ranked choice voting, or you can even let people
vote for as many candidates as they wanted.
That would be easier to figure the results. If there were only three candidates in the
race, you could do a runoff, but not when you get more than that.</p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>He advocates for a 2-year
program of national service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That would
be good if we can decide on where our kids would serve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should in turn pay for two years of their
college at least in repayment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That can be
debated, but a lot of people are on long career paths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps someone on a medical career path
could be exempted as long as they stayed on that path.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you, Arne.<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-64324088129723819812022-07-22T11:50:00.002-05:002022-07-22T11:50:21.526-05:00Another Look at the Separation of Church and State<p>The concept of a separation between church and state is being
talked about a lot today, and that is a good thing. What is exactly the relationship between
religion and government? And why is it a
separation between ‘church’ and state?
Why not synagogue or mosque? Why
not religion in general?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The founding document of our country is the Declaration of Independence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Constitution describes the system of our
government, but the Declaration tells us what it’s all about, what our country
is all about, what our government is all about.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In defining our country, the Founders talked about God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They didn’t present God as the object of
their beliefs but as an Actor in life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>God created human beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
court called supreme ruled that talk of creation was a religious idea not suited
for public schools, but the Founders called it a fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not only that, but God created human beings equal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means that nobody has a divine or
inherent right to rule over other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This fact of creating people equal determines the form of government that
we can have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We reject the idea of
kings, because they have no right to rule over other people.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This God also gave human beings unalienable rights, rights
that precede and supersede government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rights that the government did not give us and that it cannot take away.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The first Ten Amendments to the Constitution are called the
Bill of Rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are meant to encapsulate
what these unalienable rights are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other
Amendments can be repealed, like the 18<sup>th</sup> Amendment was, but these
cannot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So while the Constitution doesn’t explicitly use the word ‘God,’
it certainly recognizes Him.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But what God exactly does it recognize?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All religions talk about God, but not the same God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can’t all be talking about the same God,
because their beliefs about God are not the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They don’t all recognize that God gave these
rights to human beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not all
religions recognize a right to life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
some major religions, you don’t have a right to life if you are not of that
religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And you certainly don’t have a
right to the pursuit of happiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Anyone ever hear of the caste system?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So whatever this separation is, it certainly doesn’t mean
that we can’t talk about God and politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We say that religion cannot influence politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, too late for that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It already has.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s why we have a republic instead of a
monarchy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we have to talk about God
in our public schools if we are to teach our children about the foundations of
our country, what America is all about.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The fact that this separation is between church and state
and not religion and state shows that we are misunderstanding the concept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Founders didn’t want our federal government
to choose which church, or Christian denomination, is the official one, like
they did in Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But they were great fans of the Bible and religion being taught
in our public schools, because they knew they had to have a moral people if
they were to live in freedom, otherwise they would abuse their freedom, hurt
other people, and require a large, strong government to rule them.<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-24725207898003137202022-07-16T11:36:00.003-05:002022-07-16T11:36:29.188-05:00Questions to ask the candidates in the next election<p>Following the example of a letter in today’s newspaper, I thought
I should write a list of the most important questions to ask all the political
candidates in the fall election. I also
included a list directed to candidates in my own state. Illinois has some unique problems, but the
questions might spur relevant questions for other states as well.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Will I uphold the law of
the land?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are free to want to change
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tell us what you would change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But will you follow the laws that exist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Immigration is one example you can give.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Will you work for the benefit
of the citizens of the United States before the citizens of other countries?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This doesn’t mean that you hate the citizens
of other countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s just that you are
elected to take care of the citizens of your own country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is your job.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Will you stop spending
money you don’t have?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Debt is only acceptable
for purchases that you can reasonably pay off, like a mortgage or a car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Government debt is never paid off, and what we
spend in interest keeps getting higher, and that is just wasted money.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Do you believe it is the
role of government to solve every problem, meet every need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we will go (further) into debt to do these
things.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Do you believe America is a
good country, the freest country in the world with the best opportunities for
success for any person living here, or do you believe that America is irredeemably
flawed and must be completely reworked?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Do you believe in the Declaration
of Independence and the Constitution?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>More specifically, as examples,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>that human beings are
endowed by God with unalienable rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If our rights come from God, then we cannot live as if there is no God.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>that the role of government
is to secure these rights for its citizens<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>that the role of government
is to form a more perfect union and to ensure domestic tranquility, to unite
us, meaning, not to force controversial things on the American people before
reaching a consensus on them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>What reforms will you try
to implement while in office?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can
suggest a few.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Term limits <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>No pensions for elected
officials, though if they had one before going into office, we could fund that
pension while they are away from their last job.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Short bills, so that they
can and will be read and debated before voting on them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">d)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Political contributions
will be held in a blind trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Essentially, no candidate should know who gave what to his campaign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">e)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Politicians should be
forbidden from work as lobbyists after leaving office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their public service should not be a stepping
stone to a paid position influencing legislation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And lobbyists will have no place in creating
legislation. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Do you believe in what is
unfortunately called meritocracy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like
in sports, where people are evaluated solely on their abilities and not on
their demographics,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Will you focus on what
unites us or on what divides us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How we
are alike or how we are different?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Questions for state candidates:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Will you fix the pension
crisis in Illinois?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t care what
promises somebody made 70 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those were not wise promises, and they are bankrupting the state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can be modified, and most state retirees
will still make off like bandits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you
don’t want and work toward fixing that, we don’t need you in office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are part of the problem.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Property taxes are the most
absurd tax there is, because it is the only tax that does not take into
consideration a person’s ability to pay for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do you believe in property tax reductions, and what will you do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can think of several needed changes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Two-thirds of property
taxes goes for public education.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fund that
through the income tax.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would need
to be a distinct income tax with all funds kept separate from all other funds.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Any person who is retired
on a fixed income should have their property taxes frozen.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Will you help parents who want
to send their kids to schools different from public schools?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are two ways this can be done.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>You can give parents
vouchers toward any private school, or<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>you can give a tax break
for private school expenses up to the amount they would have paid in taxes for
public schools.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR"></span>Do you think the government
in Illinois is too large?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(We have more
governmental agencies than any other state in the country. By far.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will you try to reduce it?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These are by no means all the questions I would want to
ask.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suspect that, in order to get all
the right answers, I would have to run for office myself.<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-51619294778143064762022-07-15T10:20:00.001-05:002022-07-15T10:20:22.883-05:00Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Needed Assessment<p>For most of our nation’s history, our nation’s
moral code, or values, was taken from the Bible: You shall love your neighbor as yourself, Do
unto others as you would have others do unto you, and the Ten Commandments: Honor
your father and your mother, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou
shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not
covet anything of your neighbor’s, and there were four others that had to do
with God.</p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR">These were often posted prominently in public
places including our public schools and courtrooms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR">Then the court called supreme called that
whole practice unconstitutional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forget
that that had been the practice without incident for over 200 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR">Something else had to be found to take its
place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was always believed that that
moral code was given to us by God; now a new one was needed, and we had to
figure one out on our own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make one up
as we go along.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR">The first draft was much simpler than the old
rules: Instead of ten commandments, they were four: tolerance, equality,
fairness, and diversity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then they
did it one better: diversity, equity, and inclusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think this will probably be the last
attempt, and it is gradually being codified throughout our country, one municipality
at a time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR">No public comment was asked for, but comment
we must.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR">We might ask: who came up with this motto, or
mantra?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR">Was it a group of our religious leaders?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, religion was a private matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had no place in public life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides, we were too diverse of a people to
agree on anything religious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, it was
Marxists, the political left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have
never been shy about anything except using such terminology to describe
themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR">So what should we make of it?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span dir="LTR">Diversity: </span></b><span dir="LTR">They
tell us diversity is our strength, but they don’t really mean that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Why do I say that?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because it is not about diversity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because the only parts of the population they want to be
diverse are the predominantly white ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If a community were all black or all Hispanic or all Muslim,
nobody would complain about a lack of diversity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nobody says we need more blacks in Hispanic areas
or more Hispanics in black ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
only white areas that people don’t like.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whites are the only ethnic group that people complain about
if they have a homogeneous community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is deemed racist and elitist, but any other ethnic group can be as homogeneous
as possible without a word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The goal is a majority-minority society, but calling it
diversity is the first step in making this happen.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is important here that everybody be definable by a group
that they are a part of, race being one of the major groups, because history is
defined by the various groups interacting with the others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But primarily it is defined by white people
oppressing all the others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is why
things that suggest white rule, white power, or white majority must be broken up
and tempered with minorities.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whites have been and still are oppressors of all the other
people groups, and the others are victims.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Which leads to the second rule: <b>Equity.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Equity means that all the oppressed groups are victims, and
this historical victimhood must be addressed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Equality was a starting point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t want to be arguing against
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But equity takes it a step
further.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If history is about oppression and victims, then it is not
enough to simply stop the oppressing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The victims have been too severely damaged or disadvantaged in our
society to succeed now on their own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
must take action to assist them in becoming equal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not enough to merely treat people
equally; we have to ensure that they ‘look’ equal as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are incapable of recovering from past
injustices without remedial help from our government and our society.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Equality means that people are judged by what they do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Equity means that that is not what we should
be looking at.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certain groups have been
perpetually disadvantaged, so personal achievement is not as important as group
advancement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In practical terms, it is
not the most skilled, the highest performing that wins the job, the position,
or who should, but different groups have different standards, and all jobs,
positions, and awards must be given out in ways that reflect the various groups’
representation in society, at minimum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Like participation trophies instead of rewarding only the ’winners.’<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Inclusion: </b>On the surface, this seems the natural
complement to equity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There have been many
marginalized groups in our society, not merely ethnic ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inclusion affirms their full acceptance.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But there is more here than just making people feeling
accepted and welcome.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is a higher goal to all of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That doesn’t mean that every person embracing
diversity, equity, and inclusion is in on the plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As presented, they seem like admirable
ideals, but that is what is known as marketing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The goal is the reinventing of America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The United States has long been the freest
and richest country in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
also essentially white, capitalistic, and Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was also seen by its people as being good,
blessed, and exceptional.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The new narrative is that the United States is an evil
nation, built on the backs of slaves and driven by greed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The whites are racist oppressors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And religion, particularly Christianity, has
no place in public life or policy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Diversity addresses the white problem, equity addresses the
capitalism problem, and inclusion addresses the Christian problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The religion of Christ says that God created the world and
gave us His laws on how things work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What we used to call truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now
truth is whatever you want it to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Truth
is individual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything we have
learned from childhood, from our parents, from our history in our schools, is
all wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Boys can be girls, girls can be boys, and nobody can tell
you that you are not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inclusion simply
means that we are not to question things anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the old ways of looking at things are
wrong, outdated, unenlightened, and hateful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And so they must be eliminated.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The only reason this has gone on unchallenged for so long is
that most people have been just living their lives, working, raising a family,
being involved in church and volunteer work that they just haven’t been paying
attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They never imagined that
anyone would want to take away what they had here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they were wrong.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Diversity, equity, and inclusion are tools to redefine what
America is, discredit its history, its traditions, its values, and to bring about
a new world order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Freedom means that your potential is theoretically
boundless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That essentially means that
people’s success, however you want to define it, is as unique as the
individual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, it will be
entirely unequal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people have achieved
enormous wealth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mistake is thinking
that there is a fixed amount of wealth to be had, that if one has more, then all
the others will have less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">No, his wealth only shows us what is possible, that one’s
potential is not limited by our society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Diversity, equity, inclusion is a rejection of society as we have known
it and attempts to create a new one - less free, less prosperous, and less
tolerant. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="direction: rtl; text-align: center; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-15369870913743375352022-07-11T11:05:00.001-05:002022-07-11T11:05:15.288-05:00prayer in public schools<p>Two questions: if the First Amendment to the Constitution built
a wall of separation between Church and State such that the government cannot
endorse or favor religion in any of its forms, how could the same Congress that
wrote the First Amendment create an office of chaplain for Congress paid for by
taxpayer dollars and then have this chaplain open each day of Congress with
prayers in the name of Jesus?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If it is constitutional for Congress to open a day with prayer,
and that specifically Christian prayer, then why is it unconstitutional for
schools to open a day with prayer and that a not specifically Christian prayer?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Tribune faults the Supreme Court for allowing a coach to
pray on the field after a football game. (Court’s ruling on school prayer is supremely
questionable, July 11)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The paper notes “60 years of precedent -setting battles to
maintain a separation of church and state” that should have made it clear of
the unconstitutionality of prayer in public schools.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But they fail to note that there were 173 years of precedent
starting from the very beginning of our nation and before where prayer in
public schools was considered not only fitting and proper but necessary for the
success of the educational enterprise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
the Court ruled then to remove prayer from the public schools, it wasn’t maintaining
a separation of church and state, it was creating it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least by modern definition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That ruling had no precedent to base it on. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Since the Court removed prayer from our public schools, God
was removed as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our children are
receiving an education that essentially says that there is no God to speak of
and that need not concern them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
not a position of neutrality toward religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Actually, that is impossible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are not three options in the area of religion: pro,
con, or neutral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are only
two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pro or con.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our Founders were pro.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They realized that God created human beings equal, and He gave them unalienable
rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without God, you don’t have equality
and you don’t have unalienable rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If our country is founded on a belief in God, then it is not
unconstitutional to acknowledge this and God in our public schools.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may say that some kids don’t believe this
or are of other religions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>OK, but this
is why they have the rights they do in this country, and why countries that don’t
believe in God or who believe in other religions have less rights than we do
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is why the United States is unique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we need to teach this uniqueness and not
pretend that we somehow have all kinds of rights for no apparent reason other
than our Constitution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Constitution
didn’t give us these rights; it defined them.<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-51384271579630753202022-07-06T10:47:00.004-05:002022-07-06T10:47:43.900-05:00The one message our nation needs to hear right now<p>I should send this message out everyday to everybody I
can. It should be posted in every classroom,
every library, and prominently in all our government buildings. If I were really rich, I would put it on billboards
all across the country and daily in every newspaper.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The one message that this nation needs to hear is this:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is wholly inadequate to the
government of any other.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So said John Adams, our second President.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those people who keep calling for a separation of church and
state miss the point of that First Amendment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Founders knew that without religion, this whole freedom thing was
doomed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With freedom without religion, you’re
not going to be able to have enough police to keep order in society.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As that whole quote says: “We have no government armed with power
capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and
religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Avarice, ambition, revenge, or
gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes
through a net.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our Constitution was made
only for a moral and religious people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Notice he didn’t even mention gun violence or other serious
evils.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had a moral and religious people,
and those weren’t problems then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
worse examples that he could give were avarice [greed], ambition, revenge, and
gallantry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gallantry was a fine quality
but at times referred to certain deceptive behaviors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Founders weren’t forbidding government from anything
religious; they didn’t want the federal government to choose which branch of the
religion of Christ was the official one, like in England where the Queen of
England is the Head of the Church of England.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And that is why that First Amendment calls for the free exercise of
religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can’t do that unless the values
of [that] religion are consistent with the values of this country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">No, they weren’t establishing the religion of Christ as the religion
of the United States; they were assuming it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They weren’t worried about people of other religions or even no religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With freedom of speech and the free exchange
of ideas, they were confident that when people discussed the issues of life and
the existence of God, the religion of Christ would win the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yes, Christians are flawed people, like everybody else, and
some have done bad things and even in the name of the Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But no other religion teaches people to love
their neighbors as themselves, do unto others as you would have others do unto you,
that you are created in the image of God, that God loves you such that He gave His
Son to die for you that you might have eternal life, and that if God so loved
you, so you should also love one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And, of course, there was always that Thou shalt not kill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then, know that God shall bring into
account all the deeds that were done in the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are accountable to a Supreme Being for
what we do in our lives.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is the lack of religion that emboldens evil people to do evil
things, people who think that they will not be held accountable to Somebody
Higher than them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or, it is the lack of
hope in life that God offers people that breeds the despair, the anger, the
loneliness, and the hatred that propels people to do evil things.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Great freedom requires great responsibility, and it is only in
religion, and specifically the religion of Christ, that you get the responsibility
and hope that is needed for great freedom.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5054343342638984391.post-32719207665147471452022-07-04T14:53:00.001-05:002022-07-04T14:53:08.661-05:00What does it mean when we say that “all men are created equal?”<p>What does it mean when we say that “all men are created
equal?”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Obviously, there are many ways that we are not equal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are all unique individuals with varying
degrees of intelligence, looks, and ability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Any of those qualities offers distinct advantages to those who have
them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Much of what we are stems from our birth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of our traits are inherited and define
who we are or will be in many concrete ways: whether we will be fathers or mothers,
artists or engineers, white-collar workers or blue-collar workers,
entrepreneurs or salaried workers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much
of what we are is determined by upbringing, where we were born, who our parents
were, how we were raised, and what opportunities were given to us as we grew
up.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But being created equal has to be different from all of the
above.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The defining issue of the time when those words were written
in the Declaration of Independence was whether we were to be ruled by kings or to
be self-governing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Being equal meant that nobody had a divine or inherent right
to rule over other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We would not
have kings to tell us how to live or to rule over our lives, but we would have
a voice in the things that concern us.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The meaning of equality here is being scrutinized today, because
slavery is still being talked about today.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our nation had slavery at the time when these words were written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our Founders could have created two new
nations, one slave and one free, but they decided to create one and to work
through the issue of slavery as it could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It finally took a war to end it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Slavery has been with us everywhere since very early in
human history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably most often, slavery
was the result of military victories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They could have just killed all their prisoners, or they could subject
them to forced labor on their behalf.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now there have always been people who believed that certain
races or peoples could and should rule over others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Japanese, for example, were extraordinarily
cruel to both the Koreans and the Chinese prior to World War 2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Call that an inherent right to dominance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">People in debt often worked as slaves to pay off their
debts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now in the United States, a hundred and fifty years after
the end of slavery, we are told that the effects of slavery still linger and
affect people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not so sure that
slavery is the real issue today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am watching
a video series now about the relationship between the Irish and the Chinese in
1870s San Francisco.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, it was not
slavery, but the two groups lived distinct lives with often violent
interactions when they occurred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I remember the slaughtering of the Hutus and the Tutsis in Rwanda
back in the 90s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There weren’t even distinguishing
physical characteristics between them, but the mutual hatred cost them over a
million lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ethnic discomfort didn’t start with slavery in America, and
it’s not going to end with government programs and government payouts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a long slow process as the different groups
interact with each other and gradually accept them more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it would really help if everybody stopped
focusing on all the differences and the constant counting of this and that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you want people to unite, then stop talking about all the
differences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Talk about what we have in
common.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s doable, but it’s like a
headache.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not going to go away if
you keep talking about it and analyzing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You forget about it, and then realize later that it’s gone.<o:p></o:p></p>Larry A. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13511129626877627550noreply@blogger.com