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Bishops Should Reprimand Wayward Politicians

Posted by Mike on Saturday, November 28, 2009 1:17:16 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
Controversy has again erupted over the episcopal actions to admonish and instruct wayward Catholic politicians and statesmen. This benefits the people of America because our government has clearly overstepped its bounds in several vital areas.

The bishops' actions are intended to instruct and discipline Catholics, and to combat scandal caused by those in public office who publicly flaunt Church teaching. Of course, in many instances such public disapproval would have no effect or be counter-productive. It is therefore a question of prudence for each bishop to decide whether in a particular case, the matter should be handled privately, or whether a public slap on the wrist or other disciplinary action is in order.

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Church and State

Posted by Mike on Friday, November 27, 2009 4:46:40 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
The bishops give pastoral guidance and instruction. Catholic politicians are not exempt from Church precepts. The most basic precept of all is that of charity. The Church must counteract the mean spirited, small minded attitudes of the world.

Ultimately, man's fate is decided by God. The Church is God's instrument. There is always disagreement in the world between those who choose to follow God's ways and those who rebel against God. Charity necessitates that Christians admonish those among us who are in error. This includes lawmakers and others holding public office.

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The Advance of Civilization

Posted by Mike on Monday, November 23, 2009 1:31:24 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
Like it or not, the history of Western civilization is characterized by surrender to the inevitable onslaught from outsiders. The barbarians, most notably the Franks, carried on Western culture inherited from the Greeks and Romans through a process of accepting Christ. They then in turn brought other barbarian peoples, such as the Scandinavians, the chance for a better life. The Irish preserved Western learning in the monasteries and reintroduced it to Britain and the Continent during the Middle Ages, at which time also the philosophical works of Aristotle were rediscovered from the Muslims of the near and middle East, and used to help develop Christian theology.

In today's world, as during the time of the Roman Empire, the main threat to civilization is from within. The seven deadly sins, particularly pride and avarice, corrupt individuals and subvert the social order. The outsiders only gain a chance to conquer when the fruit is already so ripe for the picking that it is about to fall from the tree.

It looks as though the Muslims, whose origins are in the ancient heresy of Gnosticism, are ready to advance intellectually with the help of the West. The same cannot be said for China which is still trapped amid the errors of communist materialism.
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Palin/Beck America's Dream Team

Posted by Mike on Thursday, November 19, 2009 10:18:46 AM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
Patriotic, loyal Americans can start today to implement a Ten Year Plan. The goal should be to elect pro-life and fiscally responsible Democrats, Republicans or those of other affiliation, both locally and nationally in 2010. This will follow on the heels of the kickoff victories earlier this year. We can then make sure that any health care bill will protect the lives of the unborn and will not be too costly.

Sarah Palin is the clear choice for the Republican Party nominee in 2012. She is a Washington outsider with a record of leadership in Alaska. She will bring diversity of gender to the White House. She is not beholden to special interests.

America is not essentially capitalist, but exceptionalist. The Alaska energy regulation provides for sharing of revenues with Alaska citizens. This is not anti-American but rather promotes the common good. Nowhere in our Constitution does it say that wealthy capitalists should be given special privileges. Sarah Palin stands for American exceptionalism in the proud tradition of Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.

Glenn Beck is media savvy. This will boost the ticket by compensating for Palin's weaknesses as exemplified by the Katie Couric interview last year.
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Status Quo? Don't You Guys Want Change?

Posted by Mike on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 4:03:42 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
The opposition to the Stupak amendment in Congress and in the Mainstream Media is now being portrayed as an attempt to preserve the status quo of the Hyde Amendment limitations. They conveniently ignore the fact that most Americans oppose government funded abortions, and that an explicit, overt prohibition on abortion funding is necessary in any health care bill to make circumvention of the funding prohibition punishable by law.

These liberals are playing politics with our lives. It is time to force them out of the closet. Do they want abortion funding or not? If not, why are they against putting a ban on funding in the bill? Americans don't care about the status quo. They only want to make sure that tax dollars are not used to pay for abortions, or to subsidize organizations or health care plans that provide abortions whether or not the actual payment for abortions comes out of federal funding.


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The Palin Factor II

Posted by Mike on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 12:56:22 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
As things stand today, Sarah Palin is the only potential candidate with any chance of dethroning Obama in 2012. This is because the wealthy capitalist elite has succeeded in conditioning the electorate to believe that diversity is, in and of itself, a good thing for America.

Obama won in 2008 because he is black. It will take an even greater anomaly, namely a credible, intelligent woman candidate, to overcome Obama's presumptuousness because of race.

To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, you can only fool all of the people some of the time.

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Is Right to Health Care in Constitution?

Posted by Mike on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 12:36:10 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
The Tenth Amendment reserves to the states or to the people all rights not specifically enumerated. The Constitution gives Congress the express power of the purse. This means that only Congress has authority to decide how tax revenues are spent.

Whether or not required by the Tenth Amendment, prudence following the principle of subsidiarity would dictate that state and local governments should be in charge of health care. The primary responsibility rests with the individual and families. Government has an obligation to assist only where necessary.

Will liberals in Congress derail health care over abortion? Probably not. Sixty votes are only needed in the Senate to overcome a procedural obstacle, not to pass the legislation with or without inclusion of the Stupak amendment or similar pro-life language.

Will the Stupak amendment come back to haunt Senators and Representatives in the years ahead? We can expect a shift in the balance of power after 2010 and possibly a new administration in 2012. This is before health care reform gets off the ground. There is plenty of time to add explicit pro-life language at a later date. The Stupak amendment is at least a noble beginning.
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NY Terrorism Trial Signals Muslim Imposition

Posted by Mike on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 10:02:13 AM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
The trial setting for Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other suspected Islamic terrorists in New York is a concession to Islam. The West is no longer Christian but rather officially secular and agnostic. This is evident in the recent banning of the crucifix from Italian public schools which will be ignored by the Italians themselves and inspire other schools in Europe to display Christian symbols such as the nativity scene in the classroom.

The pope is trying to broker a deal with Islamic leaders in exchange for the building of mosques in Europe for them to allow churches to be built in Muslim lands and to give Muslims the right to convert to Christianity or Judaism.

Secularism leaves a void in the soul which leads people to seek guidance to answer the basic questions of their existence.

The decision by the Obama administration is saying to Muslims throughout the world that the West will accommodate them even in times of war. This will inevitably lead to demands that western countries allow Muslims to live under a separate system of sharia law, something that the EU already permits at the local level.

The goal of Islam is jihad to destroy the Great Satan of secularism particularly in America and Israel. Obama is conceding that they won and that at least for the time being, America will concede them a gradual victory.
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Extraterrestrial Possibilities

Posted by Mike on Monday, November 16, 2009 5:00:01 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
The Vatican's recent conference on the possibility of extraterrestrial life opens up a new way of thinking about man's place in the universe. Science may be on the verge of discovering microbial life beyond earth's limits within our solar system. Such a discovery would greatly increase the odds of intelligent life existing somewhere beyond.

Apart from the possibility of a war of the worlds, this allows for appreciating man's inherent limitations as a creature, and the great gift of freedom which God gave to mankind in creating man in His own image and likeness. Man's eternal life is verified by recent evolutionary theory which demonstrates that there is a direction from the simple and material to the more complex and spiritual, culminating in the development of human consciousness on earth.

If intelligent beings do exist beyond earth's bounds, they will certainly not be endowed with the gift of an immortal soul as we humans are. Their intelligence will be a highly refined animal intelligence, and will be specialized to adapt to different environmental conditions within different locations in the various galaxies on planets which have similar conditions to our own. It will then be the challenge of our posterity to conquer, milk these intelligent beings and harvest their brains for our own well being.

More importantly for today is to view the conditions on earth with these possibilities in mind, allowing us to see how powerless and insignificant we are as creatures. Thus, it will become possible to resolve human conflicts without resorting to force and violence. For example, we can implement a military exit from Afghanistan without suffering dire consequences just as the Russians did in February of 1989.
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The Dangers of Jihadism

Posted by Mike on Saturday, November 14, 2009 1:53:25 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
The collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th century seemed to many civilized Romans like the end of the world. The barbarians from the North and East were able to conquer Rome because of Rome's own internal contradictions and weaknesses.

A similar, though not identical, phenomena is happening today in regard to Western Europe and America. Islam is gradually becoming the dominant religion, and with it a foreign culture to replace the decadent culture of the West.

Corruption at all levels of government, abortion, pornography, financial fraud, all of these things and more are in need of correction. Rome's government toppled largely because of unsustainable military entanglements throughout the Empire, and because of the high cost of a lavish economy based upon slave labor. The barbarian influx proved in the long run to be the very thing that preserved classical learning and civilization.

Something similar is happening today. An arrogant secular state born out of the ashes of the French Revolution is becoming increasingly burdensome. Deficit spending and outrageously high taxes are causing opposition to government throughout the land. Amidst this chaos, Muslim jihadists see an opportunity to win acceptance of their belief system as the cultural norm, and for some fanatics the expectation of a quick ticket to paradise with an eternal reward of a plurality of virgins to make up for all of the disappointments, rejections and inadequacies of their earthly lives.

Could this be the beginning of another cultural transformation taking mankind to a higher level of development?

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Basic Health Care a Right for All

Posted by Mike on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 1:13:52 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
Opposition to reasonable health care reform and support for legalized abortion are really two sides of the same coin. They both reject human solidarity. They both view life as a zero-sum game.

There can be no solidarity without deference to subsidiarity. All persons in society have a basic right to health care as a matter of social justice, which includes the corresponding responsibility of all to contribute in some way to the common good. Basic medical care should be provided first at the local level, and only receiving state assistance when the standard of care falls below normal. Capitalism tends to exalt personal choice above the common good, which is a form of libertarianism and leads to a decrease in the overall standard of care.

In actuality, there are two rights which are the subject of the debate. The first is the right to life, without which no other rights can be realized. This means that abortion is not legitimate health care because it denies human beings the fundamental right to life. Abortion and legitimate health care are polar opposites.

The second right that must be secured is the right of all to basic health care. Each individual who actively participates as a member of society has this right. This also includes immigrants here legally, but not immigrants here through subterfuge. Of course, local governments may nonetheless require that emergency services be provided even to those here through subterfuge for the common good of all.

These two fundamental rights are not opposed to each other. There is no reason why the Senate and House cannot together pass legislation that protects the life of the unborn and at the same time makes sure that the right to basic health care is insured where necessary.

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Basic Health Care a Right for All

Posted by Mike on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 1:13:33 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
Opposition to reasonable health care reform and support for legalized abortion are really two sides of the same coin. They both reject human solidarity. They both view life as a zero-sum game.

There can be no solidarity without deference to subsidiarity. All persons in society have a basic right to health care as a matter of social justice, which includes the corresponding responsibility of all to contribute in some way to the common good. Basic medical care should be provided first at the local level, and only receiving state assistance when the standard of care falls below normal. Capitalism tends to exalt personal choice above the common good, which is a form of libertarianism and leads to a decrease in the overall standard of care.

In actuality, there are two rights which are the subject of the debate. The first is the right to life, without which no other rights can be realized. This means that abortion is not legitimate health care because it denies human beings the fundamental right to life. Abortion and legitimate health care are polar opposites.

The second right that must be secured is the right of all to basic health care. Each individual who actively participates as a member of society has this right. This also includes immigrants here legally, but not immigrants here through subterfuge. Of course, local governments may nonetheless require that emergency services be provided even to those here through subterfuge for the common good of all.

These two fundamental rights are not opposed to each other. There is no reason why the Senate and House cannot together pass legislation that protects the life of the unborn and at the same time makes sure that the right to basic health care is insured where necessary.

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Is America Worth Saving?

Posted by Mike on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 3:09:41 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
Austria, although suffering the ravages of Allied bombardment, was spared the degradation of communism because of the Austrians strictly adhering to their Christian traditions. The German speaking peoples of central and eastern Europe were forcibly expelled and many suffered death as well as losing their homes and possessions, and many also were given a new lease on life in free Europe and other countries of the world.

Will Americans and Europeans be so lucky if the trend toward Islamicization continues in the West as it has over the last decade?

Quibbling about whether Hasan, the Fort Hood killer, just went over the top, or was engaging in jihad, does nothing to fix the problem. Then there is the D.C. sniper, also a Muslim, who is scheduled for execution tonight. Prisoner abuse by our enlisted soldiers is a sign of declining military discipline and morale. In sacrificing our cherished traditions on the altar of capitalism, we as a nation risk destruction.

At some point, it becomes too late to change a culture save by miraculous intervention. Has America reached that point yet? Have the envious cynics already won the culture war?

The strength of Islamic extremism is that it holds a trump card. Either do what they want or get blown up. When Christians become so lukewarm in their faith that tolerance is exalted above objective truth, then the Muslim moral absolutes, no matter how flawed, prevail, just as communism once did.
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Bush Doctrine on Target

Posted by Mike on Sunday, November 08, 2009 1:23:42 PM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
Capitalism contains within itself the seeds of its own destruction.

Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda were primarily responsible for financing the terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. Other than training the hijackers, they had little to do with the actual attack on 9/11. Today, Osama is either dead or incapacitated.

The real culprits of 9/11 were the same crowd who tried to blow up the WTO in 1993, attempted to assassinate the pope and stage airplane hijackings from the Philippines in January 1995, and masterminded the Oklahoma City bombing in April of that year. The leaders of this gang of thugs were Ramsey Yousef and Khalid Sheik Mohammed, both with ties to Iraq and possibly receiving financial aid from bin Laden and his family. This is also corroborated by bin Laden's own statement in 2001 that those responsible for 9/11 acted as free independent agents.

The administration of George W. Bush did not want to implicate Iraq because that would have shown how stupid it really was to attack Saddam's forces after the Kuwait invasion in 1991. Still, there remains a clear trail of blood leading out of Iraq between 1991 and 2001.

America has clearly stopped terrorism in its tracks. All that is left to do now is orderly withdrawals of US and NATO forces from Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Was It the Forty Virgins?

Posted by Mike on Saturday, November 07, 2009 10:19:08 AM
http://westernperspective.blogspot.com/
Speculation continues as to what could have possibly motivated Major Nidal Malik Hasan MD to open fire in Fort Hood, killing 13, most of whom being active duty service men and women, and wounding 31 others. Obviously, Hasan was distraught over his orders to deploy to Iraq after Thanksgiving. He gave away many of his personal belongings stating that he was being deployed three weeks ahead of schedule, obviously not expecting to live much longer. One clue may be found in the Qur'an itself. As in the case of the 9/11 hijackers, it may be that Hasan, a devout Muslim, was expecting his reward of forty virgins in Paradise for waging jihad against the infidel.

Medical doctors are called to heal, to save lives, not to kill human beings. If Hasan survives, he will learn this vital lesson, hopefully being confined to the military brig for the rest of his earthly life. Abortionists had better take notice.

So much for the virgins.

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