Friday, April 20, 2012
Conservatism's Main Line
Really Simple Conservatism
The essence of Conservatism in government is to preserve and reinforce the good things, good ideas, and good laws in the nation, and to work diligently to eliminate the bad things, bad ideas and bad laws as permanently as possible, all for the benefit of the citizens.
While these things, ideas and laws are not precisely all good or all bad, the tendency is to group them into good and bad lists, with the understanding that in the process of undoing a bad thing, idea or law, its good part will be preserved by government as nearly as possible. As in most cases in life, the Devil is in the details. The conflicts with other political groups, progressives in particular, tend to occur when the notions of good and bad, and the timing of decisions are in opposition.
Then too, conservatives have a deep down desire to live in a system where there is great predictability, a goodly measure of certainty, security, comfort, and knowledge of the law (especially natural law and natural rights), and as well having equal opportunity for advancement, and the twin attributes of freedom and liberty. Conservatives do not want rapid and highly experimental changes in our way of life, unless the matter is urgent and provably necessary, and that the ramifications of the change are well understood and accounted for. Then, they will support changes.
So, you are a Conservative if you sign up to:
Good Things, Good Ideas, and Good Laws
1. Truth and Honesty
2. Freedom and Liberty
3. Morality and Moral Rectitude
4. Christian Religion, Charity and Religious Tolerance
5. Natural Law
6. Natural Rights
7, Natural Duties
8. The Declaration of Independence
9. The Constitution of the United States (Read Plainly)
10. The Federal System: A Sovereign Nation with Sovereign States
11. Checks and Balances on Power in Government
12. An Electoral System as Prescribed by the Constitution
13. Customs, Traditions, and Institutions Designed to Preserve the Nation
14. Individual Responsibility
15. Common Sense and Practicality
16. Fiscal Responsibility and Frugality in Government
17. Balanced Budgets Yearly, with Planned Debt and Debit Reductions Included
18. Prudent Changes to Laws as Needed
19. Prudent and Humane Foreign Policies
20. An Adequate and Modern Defense Force
21. Subsidiarity: Make Decisions at the Lowest Level of Government
22. Free Market System with Adequate Regulation, and no Penalties for Wealth
23. Trade and Mutual Defense Treaties with other Nations
24. A Space Policy and Program to Keep the Nation at the Forefront
25. A Judicial System that is bound to interpret the Laws of the Nation, and not to extend them
26. A Legislative System that can extend the Laws at the will of the people
27. The Will of the People is Represented Properly by Congressional Representatives
28. Prudent Stewardship of the Nation’s Land and Natural Resources
29. Strict Maintenance of the Sovereignty of the Nation
30. Participation in Global efforts to improve other Nations
31. Effective Immigration Policies and Procedures
32. Government Seed Money Properly Used for Sparking new Areas of Endeavor, such as for Space
33. Social Conservative Principles, i.e. Ant-Abortion, Anti-SSM
34. Just Killing (Death Penalty), and Just War
35. Care for the Ill, the Disabled, the Old, and the Handicapped
36. Majority Rule with Minority Protections
37. Absolutely no Reapportionment or Redistribution of Wealth for its Own Sake
38. Equal Opportunity for Advancement
Eliminating Bad Things, Bad Ideas, and Bad Laws
1. Lies and Dishonesty, Fraud and Abuse in Government
2. More Government Restrictions on Freedom and Liberty than are Needed
3. Moral Relativity
4. Full Secularization
5. Laws Impinging on the Natural Order
6. Laws Impinging on Natural Rights
7. Shirking Natural Duties
8. Bending the Declaration Improperly
9. Bending or Subverting the Constitution
10. Increasing Federal Power at the Expense of the States
11. Subverting the Checks and Balances
12. Championing a Fully Democratic Election (No Electoral College)
13. Trashing the Existing Customs, Traditions and Institutions
14. Collectivists in Power Positions
15. Flights of Do-Good-ism, Irrationality, and Undue Humanitarianism
16. Tax and Spend and Tax and Spend ad nauseam
17. Deficit Spending Year-in and Year-out
18. Imprudent and Hasty Changes that End up being Counterproductive
19. Uneven or Detrimental Policies towards the World of Nations
20. A Mediocre, out-of-date or Deficient Military
21. Keeping or Arranging that Decision-Making Stays at a Very High Level Unnecessarily
22. Overregulation or even Collectivizing the Economy
23. Looking Inward to our nation, and not Outward to Other Nations
24. Killing the Space Programs
25. Judicial Activism and Allowing Foreign Influences in Decisions
26. Government that Largely Ignores the Will of the People
27. The Will of the People is Actively Thwarted
28. Poor or Overly Invasive Stewardship of our Natural Resources and Land
29. Allowing Foreign Influences to Impinge on our Sovereignty
30. Ignoring the Plight of Other Nations
31. Not Solving either Immigration Problem: neither Illegals; nor Desirables.
32. Government Takeover of Industry
33. Social Hedonism
34. Unjust Killing and Unjust War
35. Minimizing the Care Needed by the Unfortunate
36. Minimizing Minority Protections
37. Redistribution of Wealth Arbitrarily Because it is Possible to do.
38. Insisting Upon Equal Results as well as Equal Opportunity
The essence of Conservatism in government is to preserve and reinforce the good things, good ideas, and good laws in the nation, and to work diligently to eliminate the bad things, bad ideas and bad laws as permanently as possible, all for the benefit of the citizens.
While these things, ideas and laws are not precisely all good or all bad, the tendency is to group them into good and bad lists, with the understanding that in the process of undoing a bad thing, idea or law, its good part will be preserved by government as nearly as possible. As in most cases in life, the Devil is in the details. The conflicts with other political groups, progressives in particular, tend to occur when the notions of good and bad, and the timing of decisions are in opposition.
Then too, conservatives have a deep down desire to live in a system where there is great predictability, a goodly measure of certainty, security, comfort, and knowledge of the law (especially natural law and natural rights), and as well having equal opportunity for advancement, and the twin attributes of freedom and liberty. Conservatives do not want rapid and highly experimental changes in our way of life, unless the matter is urgent and provably necessary, and that the ramifications of the change are well understood and accounted for. Then, they will support changes.
So, you are a Conservative if you sign up to:
Good Things, Good Ideas, and Good Laws
1. Truth and Honesty
2. Freedom and Liberty
3. Morality and Moral Rectitude
4. Christian Religion, Charity and Religious Tolerance
5. Natural Law
6. Natural Rights
7, Natural Duties
8. The Declaration of Independence
9. The Constitution of the United States (Read Plainly)
10. The Federal System: A Sovereign Nation with Sovereign States
11. Checks and Balances on Power in Government
12. An Electoral System as Prescribed by the Constitution
13. Customs, Traditions, and Institutions Designed to Preserve the Nation
14. Individual Responsibility
15. Common Sense and Practicality
16. Fiscal Responsibility and Frugality in Government
17. Balanced Budgets Yearly, with Planned Debt and Debit Reductions Included
18. Prudent Changes to Laws as Needed
19. Prudent and Humane Foreign Policies
20. An Adequate and Modern Defense Force
21. Subsidiarity: Make Decisions at the Lowest Level of Government
22. Free Market System with Adequate Regulation, and no Penalties for Wealth
23. Trade and Mutual Defense Treaties with other Nations
24. A Space Policy and Program to Keep the Nation at the Forefront
25. A Judicial System that is bound to interpret the Laws of the Nation, and not to extend them
26. A Legislative System that can extend the Laws at the will of the people
27. The Will of the People is Represented Properly by Congressional Representatives
28. Prudent Stewardship of the Nation’s Land and Natural Resources
29. Strict Maintenance of the Sovereignty of the Nation
30. Participation in Global efforts to improve other Nations
31. Effective Immigration Policies and Procedures
32. Government Seed Money Properly Used for Sparking new Areas of Endeavor, such as for Space
33. Social Conservative Principles, i.e. Ant-Abortion, Anti-SSM
34. Just Killing (Death Penalty), and Just War
35. Care for the Ill, the Disabled, the Old, and the Handicapped
36. Majority Rule with Minority Protections
37. Absolutely no Reapportionment or Redistribution of Wealth for its Own Sake
38. Equal Opportunity for Advancement
Eliminating Bad Things, Bad Ideas, and Bad Laws
1. Lies and Dishonesty, Fraud and Abuse in Government
2. More Government Restrictions on Freedom and Liberty than are Needed
3. Moral Relativity
4. Full Secularization
5. Laws Impinging on the Natural Order
6. Laws Impinging on Natural Rights
7. Shirking Natural Duties
8. Bending the Declaration Improperly
9. Bending or Subverting the Constitution
10. Increasing Federal Power at the Expense of the States
11. Subverting the Checks and Balances
12. Championing a Fully Democratic Election (No Electoral College)
13. Trashing the Existing Customs, Traditions and Institutions
14. Collectivists in Power Positions
15. Flights of Do-Good-ism, Irrationality, and Undue Humanitarianism
16. Tax and Spend and Tax and Spend ad nauseam
17. Deficit Spending Year-in and Year-out
18. Imprudent and Hasty Changes that End up being Counterproductive
19. Uneven or Detrimental Policies towards the World of Nations
20. A Mediocre, out-of-date or Deficient Military
21. Keeping or Arranging that Decision-Making Stays at a Very High Level Unnecessarily
22. Overregulation or even Collectivizing the Economy
23. Looking Inward to our nation, and not Outward to Other Nations
24. Killing the Space Programs
25. Judicial Activism and Allowing Foreign Influences in Decisions
26. Government that Largely Ignores the Will of the People
27. The Will of the People is Actively Thwarted
28. Poor or Overly Invasive Stewardship of our Natural Resources and Land
29. Allowing Foreign Influences to Impinge on our Sovereignty
30. Ignoring the Plight of Other Nations
31. Not Solving either Immigration Problem: neither Illegals; nor Desirables.
32. Government Takeover of Industry
33. Social Hedonism
34. Unjust Killing and Unjust War
35. Minimizing the Care Needed by the Unfortunate
36. Minimizing Minority Protections
37. Redistribution of Wealth Arbitrarily Because it is Possible to do.
38. Insisting Upon Equal Results as well as Equal Opportunity
Labels: Conservatism
Sunday, April 08, 2012
Election Predictions
It is a long time from now to November!
Here we are in April, and the usual suspects are placing their bets on the outcome of the election in November. It’s a fun game, but there are so very many disturbing events possible between now and seven months from now, that there is little to gain in making a prediction, except of course, the “inevitability tactic” of touting your selection over and over in hope of influencing the outcome. Impovrished thinkers long to back a winner. So declare one for them!
The economy and job growth can well stagnate over the Summer and into the Fall, after the pent up customer demand of the last years is exhausted. Oil prices may well become intolerable to swallow, etc. and the real job loss of 11% to 18% can turn against the imcumbent. Even now, some see through the highly touted figure of 8.2% to the reality.
The chorus of accusations against Obama will become much louder; his narcissicism; lies; bending the Constitution out of shape; etc. coming to a boil. Watch for more and more books accusing Obama of leading the nation into chaos and backing the accusations up with long lists of facts. Conservatives will pay attention, while progressives will try to drown out the chorus of facts with sly and subverting stories.
The Middle East can easily explode into yet another conflict, with Israel making a decision to attack Iran; Syria becoming even worse; and the public reacting unfavorably to the administration’s support for Palestine at the expense of Israel. There are many opportunities here in the foreign field for Obama to stub his toe badly and thereby forfit his reelection.
The administration’s stealth executive order approach to allowing illegal immigrants to remain in country by fiat does not sit well with many citizens, and that will be publicized heavily.
Then, too, Obama himself can hinder his own bid for reelection by words and actions that alienate many voters, not unlike his description of the right, which was contemptuously to the effect that they clutch the Bible in one hand and a rifle in the other. Or, his message to Putin that he would have “more flexibility” after he is reelected. Indeed! One hopes he finds himself out of a job.
Here we are in April, and the usual suspects are placing their bets on the outcome of the election in November. It’s a fun game, but there are so very many disturbing events possible between now and seven months from now, that there is little to gain in making a prediction, except of course, the “inevitability tactic” of touting your selection over and over in hope of influencing the outcome. Impovrished thinkers long to back a winner. So declare one for them!
The economy and job growth can well stagnate over the Summer and into the Fall, after the pent up customer demand of the last years is exhausted. Oil prices may well become intolerable to swallow, etc. and the real job loss of 11% to 18% can turn against the imcumbent. Even now, some see through the highly touted figure of 8.2% to the reality.
The chorus of accusations against Obama will become much louder; his narcissicism; lies; bending the Constitution out of shape; etc. coming to a boil. Watch for more and more books accusing Obama of leading the nation into chaos and backing the accusations up with long lists of facts. Conservatives will pay attention, while progressives will try to drown out the chorus of facts with sly and subverting stories.
The Middle East can easily explode into yet another conflict, with Israel making a decision to attack Iran; Syria becoming even worse; and the public reacting unfavorably to the administration’s support for Palestine at the expense of Israel. There are many opportunities here in the foreign field for Obama to stub his toe badly and thereby forfit his reelection.
The administration’s stealth executive order approach to allowing illegal immigrants to remain in country by fiat does not sit well with many citizens, and that will be publicized heavily.
Then, too, Obama himself can hinder his own bid for reelection by words and actions that alienate many voters, not unlike his description of the right, which was contemptuously to the effect that they clutch the Bible in one hand and a rifle in the other. Or, his message to Putin that he would have “more flexibility” after he is reelected. Indeed! One hopes he finds himself out of a job.
Labels: Obama
On Scientific Atheism
The Scientific Atheist Sees Chimeras
Isn’t it ironic that a scientific atheist decries our Transcendent God as so much chimera and smoke, and at the exact same time exalts modern science as the only real purveyor of truth? He is fooling himself, of course, since at the heights of today’s science lie chimeras and smoke of equal or greater etherealness.
What do we find there? Multiple Bubble Universes that can never be observed, directly or indirectly and cannot be tested; a General Theory of Relativity that cannot be reconciled with probabilistic Quantum Theory, a mishmash of mathematical netherworlds that goes by the name of String Theory, or later on, Superstring Theory, that has lost its promise to perform the reconciliation of those theories so devoutly wished for into a “Theory of Everything” because they find that many thousands of solutions exist to the equations put forward; and, an Anthropic Universe that suggests strongly that our Universe was designed for Man, and this simply cannot be. These entities and theories are no less chimerical than that of God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. There lies the irony!
This highly charged scientific soup is constantly stirred around hoping that something intelligible will magically pop out of the mixture to put order into our understanding of the origins of everything. They propose a God Particle(!) that permeates the Universe and gives mass to the particles of the Standard Particle Model—the so-named Higgs Boson, that physicists hope will be discovered at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland and France; and talk about measurements needed that are many, many orders of magnitude smaller than we can ever measure-- the so-named Planck Length (1.62 exp -35 m); Gravity waves are supposed to be carried by an ocean of Higgs Bosons; again, more unobservable entities. They fervently believe that there is a “Wave Function of the Universe” that accounts for all phenomena in the Universe, but this function is a figment of their imagination. It doesn’t exist.
For all of their prowess in creating scientific theories they cannot explain the origin of life, or abiogenesis, and their revered Darwinian Theory of Evolution is so riddled with holes it is laughable that scientists still defend it religiously in public with all their might, while admitting in private that the theory needs some serious overhauling. The atheist gloried in the theory of evolution since it bypassed the need for God to perform his creation of the Universe and life. No more. That theory cannot explain the simplest of cell structures or molecules and how they were formed by random steps, or what information must be supplied and how, because it turns out that the number of steps needed for them is virtually unknowable and uncountable! This in turn means that there has not been enough time since the Big Bang for random actions to create complex biological structures on Earth.
Science therefore has totally let the atheist down in his need for a mechanical, Godless self-creation. The problem is, most scientific atheists don’t know these facts and still hold to their outdated views, and as for other atheists, they hold to their beliefs without any support at all.
Truly ironic!
The Scientific Atheist Sees Chimeras
Isn’t it ironic that a scientific atheist decries our Transcendent God as so much chimera and smoke, and at the exact same time exalts modern science as the only real purveyor of truth? He is fooling himself, of course, since at the heights of today’s science lie chimeras and smoke of equal or greater etherealness.
What do we find there? Multiple Bubble Universes that can never be observed, directly or indirectly and cannot be tested; a General Theory of Relativity that cannot be reconciled with probabilistic Quantum Theory, a mishmash of mathematical netherworlds that goes by the name of String Theory, or later on, Superstring Theory, that has lost its promise to perform the reconciliation of those theories so devoutly wished for into a “Theory of Everything” because they find that many thousands of solutions exist to the equations put forward; and, an Anthropic Universe that suggests strongly that our Universe was designed for Man, and this simply cannot be. These entities and theories are no less chimerical than that of God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. There lies the irony!
This highly charged scientific soup is constantly stirred around hoping that something intelligible will magically pop out of the mixture to put order into our understanding of the origins of everything. They propose a God Particle(!) that permeates the Universe and gives mass to the particles of the Standard Particle Model—the so-named Higgs Boson, that physicists hope will be discovered at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland and France; and talk about measurements needed that are many, many orders of magnitude smaller than we can ever measure-- the so-named Planck Length (1.62 exp -35 m); Gravity waves are supposed to be carried by an ocean of Higgs Bosons; again, more unobservable entities. They fervently believe that there is a “Wave Function of the Universe” that accounts for all phenomena in the Universe, but this function is a figment of their imagination. It doesn’t exist.
For all of their prowess in creating scientific theories they cannot explain the origin of life, or abiogenesis, and their revered Darwinian Theory of Evolution is so riddled with holes it is laughable that scientists still defend it religiously in public with all their might, while admitting in private that the theory needs some serious overhauling. The atheist gloried in the theory of evolution since it bypassed the need for God to perform his creation of the Universe and life. No more. That theory cannot explain the simplest of cell structures or molecules and how they were formed by random steps, or what information must be supplied and how, because it turns out that the number of steps needed for them is virtually unknowable and uncountable! This in turn means that there has not been enough time since the Big Bang for random actions to create complex biological structures on Earth.
Science therefore has totally let the atheist down in his need for a mechanical, Godless self-creation. The problem is, most scientific atheists don’t know these facts and still hold to their outdated views, and as for other atheists, they hold to their beliefs without any support at all.
Truly ironic!
Labels: Agnosticism, Anthropic Principle, Atheism, Darwinism, God, Intelligent Design, Origins, Universe
Monday, April 02, 2012
Voter ID with Picture
Yes! Give us picture IDs
This issue is an attempt to block the adoption by states of voter ID with pictures on the grounds that it would disenfranchise large numbers of citizens. I believe it is specious and devious to block states from insisting that their citizens must have an effective picture identification with them in order to vote.
First, any citizen that has no ID at all must obtain a Voter Registration Card, which is based on adequate documentation that the person is a citizen and has a permanent address in the district. In my view, once a Picture ID is law, the polling locations for the state can be set up to implement both the VRC and Picture ID, given adequate proof of citizenship. Obviously, if the person cannot provide adequate proof of citizenship, he must not be allowed to vote, and he cannot obtain a VRC or Picture ID. In this case, there is no disenfranchisement for the person if he cannot prove citizenship.
A lot of commentary has been devoted to the onorous need for a poor person to take the time and spend the money to obtain a Picture ID. If the state provides both the picture ID and the VRC at the person's voting precinct free of charge, then when this person comes to vote for the first time, he can be provided these items, and can then vote; again, so long as he brings with him adequate proof of citizenship. So there is no hinderance to his voting, except proof of citizenship, no cost to him for the VRC and Picture ID, and no extra trip to obtain the Picture ID.
Therefore, I see all of the yelling to be mere blockage for what purpose I hesitate to state. After a voting cycle or two, the number of citizens that have no VRC or Picture ID should decrease substantially, at the cost of the state providing the wherewithal to issue the full set of IDs at the precinct or equivalent level.
Even if the state requires the citizen to appear at a DMV to obtain a full ID, it is the duty of a citizen to make the effort. Employers should grant the time for this as well, in order to ensure a good voter turnout.
Yes! Give us picture IDs
This issue is an attempt to block the adoption by states of voter ID with pictures on the grounds that it would disenfranchise large numbers of citizens. I believe it is specious and devious to block states from insisting that their citizens must have an effective picture identification with them in order to vote.
First, any citizen that has no ID at all must obtain a Voter Registration Card, which is based on adequate documentation that the person is a citizen and has a permanent address in the district. In my view, once a Picture ID is law, the polling locations for the state can be set up to implement both the VRC and Picture ID, given adequate proof of citizenship. Obviously, if the person cannot provide adequate proof of citizenship, he must not be allowed to vote, and he cannot obtain a VRC or Picture ID. In this case, there is no disenfranchisement for the person if he cannot prove citizenship.
A lot of commentary has been devoted to the onorous need for a poor person to take the time and spend the money to obtain a Picture ID. If the state provides both the picture ID and the VRC at the person's voting precinct free of charge, then when this person comes to vote for the first time, he can be provided these items, and can then vote; again, so long as he brings with him adequate proof of citizenship. So there is no hinderance to his voting, except proof of citizenship, no cost to him for the VRC and Picture ID, and no extra trip to obtain the Picture ID.
Therefore, I see all of the yelling to be mere blockage for what purpose I hesitate to state. After a voting cycle or two, the number of citizens that have no VRC or Picture ID should decrease substantially, at the cost of the state providing the wherewithal to issue the full set of IDs at the precinct or equivalent level.
Even if the state requires the citizen to appear at a DMV to obtain a full ID, it is the duty of a citizen to make the effort. Employers should grant the time for this as well, in order to ensure a good voter turnout.
Labels: Picture ID
