Politics

Given the current (not to mention hopelessly stagnant) political climate in this nation, it seemed good to share the views (on politics) of two of my favorite columnists.

First up is noted sports columnist Jason Whitlock, who in this column, penned the following (emphasis mine),

Let me make one thing clear: I am neither Republican nor Democrat, liberal nor conservative. I abhor politics because of its inherent untruthfulness. I have never participated in the political process. Never. I don’t share that with a great deal of pride. I’ve just found it impossible to participate in a process that is directly opposed to truth.

Then there is this random thought from distinguished economist and author Thomas Sowell (emphasis mine),

Human beings are going to make mistakes, whether in the market or in the government. The difference is that survival in the market requires recognizing mistakes and changing course before you go bankrupt. But survival in politics requires denying mistakes and sticking with the policies you advocated, while blaming others for the bad results.

What do you think about their words?

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Thomas Sowell’s Random Thoughts

Check out this week’s Random Thoughts from Dr. Sowell, a couple of samples:

I wonder what radical feminists make of the fact that it was men who created the rule of “women and children first” when it came to rescuing people from life-threatening emergencies.

It is hard to get the supporters of Barack Obama to give a coherent reason for their support. The basis for their support seems to be guilt, gullibility or– in the case of some conservatives– a hatred of John McCain.

Good stuff…

Prelutsky column reminds of the “Cultural Christianity” of Dr. Dawkins

Last month, Burt Prelutsky wrote a column titled,
“I’m Happy to Live in a Christian Nation”

in which he made it explicitly clear that “religion plays no part” in his life, save for his subscription to those nebulous “Judeo-Christian values”.

That being the case he also asserts,

although I do not accept that we are all fallen creatures or that Jesus Christ died for my sins, I am thankful that I live in a Christian nation.

He then goes on to explain why. His words could stand to be more charitable however.

Mr. Prelutsky’s column reminded me of Professor Richard Dawkins recent (relatively speaking) admission that he considers himself a cultural Christian, click here for that story.

By the way Dr. Albert Mohler commented on Prof. Dawkins’ words here.

Dr. Dawkins’ said this about the U.K.,

“I’m not one of those who wants to stop Christian traditions.

“This is historically a Christian country. I’m a cultural Christian in the same way many of my friends call themselves cultural Jews or cultural Muslims.

“So, yes, I like singing carols along with everybody else. I’m not one of those who wants to purge our society of our Christian history.

“If there’s any threat these sorts of things, I think you will find it comes from rival religions and not from atheists.”

That may be the case in the U.K but it seems that here in the States, this kind of thing is spearheaded by so-called atheists.

The Whitening of NFL Rosters

I became a huge Jason Whitlock fan after watching him take Al Sharpton to task for the latter’s alarmist tactics.

Whitlock is a gifted writer not to mention a brilliant communicator, which is why he is linked to right in the “Opinion” box.

A column he wrote for Fox Sports (his new home) titled,
“NFL buffoons leaving terrible legacy”, expounds on the effects of hip hop culture on the composition of NFL rosters.

A sample,

African-American football players caught up in the rebellion and buffoonery of hip hop culture have given NFL owners and coaches a justifiable reason to whiten their rosters. That will be the legacy left by Chad, Larry and Tank Johnson, Pacman Jones, Terrell Owens, Michael Vick and all the other football bojanglers.

In terms of opportunity for American-born black athletes, they’re going to leave the game in far worse shape than they found it.

It’s already starting to happen. A little-publicized fact is that the Colts and the Patriots — the league’s model franchises — are two of the whitest teams in the NFL.

If a white journalist would have said this, Al Sharpton would have called for the man’s immediate dismissal and subsequent hanging. Even if our theoretical white journalist would have added what Whitlock did further down the page,

Race is not the determining factor when it comes to having a good or bad attitude. Culture is.

I recommend reading the entire column to consider the following question: Does Jason Whitlock have a point?

Colleen Bellotti, meet C.S. Lewis

From CS Lewis’ Mere Christianity

The relations of the family to the outer world-what might be called its foreign policy-must depend, in the last resort, upon the man, because he always ought to be, and usually is, much more just to the outsiders.

A woman is primarily fighting for her own children and husband against the rest of the world. Naturally, almost, in a sense, rightly, their claims override, for her, all other claims. She is the special trustee of their interests.

The function of the husband is to see that this natural preference of hers is not given its head.

Colleen Bellotti, wife of Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti, proved Lewis’ words correct during an incident which is chronicled here by Oregonian columnist John Canzano.

Apparently Mrs. Bellotti was bent by one of Canzano’s columns in which he,

…reported and columnized about the two DUII’s her son [who’s on the Oregon squad] got, and his plea agreement two weeks ago, and the program’s decision to keep his suspension on the downlow… and Colleen said, “You’ve dragged our family through so much hurt and pain…”

So she did (allegedly) what any mother would do and launched a profanity-laced tirade at Canzano as the latter sat in the press box during last weekend’s USC-Oregon matchup.

Mr. Canzano’s account of the incident is truly beyond belief.

Is Ann Coulter Really Anti-Semitic?

Ann Coulter (who’s a Gentile) is catching some major heat for some comments she made regarding Jews.

She’s being called all sorts of uncharitable names, and her comments have drawn the “anti-semitic” and “hateful” labels,
“Coulter draws fire over remarks about Jews”

What is it that she said to deserve this? According to the above article,

Conservative author Ann Coulter finds herself in the middle of a firestorm once again after remarks on a CNBC television show in which she said Jews need “to be perfected” and suggested the nation would be better off if it were all-Christian.

Dennis Prager, who is Jewish, wrote a column which offers up an opinion on all this from a rational Jewish perspective
Ann Coulter Wants Jews to Become Christian — So What?

What was interesting to me was something I read in the Jewish New Testament Commentary by Dr. David H. Stern:

To suppose that one can trust in God without trusting in Yeshua and His atoning death is to trust only in the god of one’s imagination and not in the God of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov (p.367).

Yeshua, of course, is known to the most of us as Jesus of Nazareth who claimed to be the Son of God.

Now, Dr. Stern is Jewish and his words are far “stronger” than what Coulter said, so does that make Stern anti-Semitic? If one is to label Stern’s words as hateful towards Jews and even Muslims, then one has to apply the same label to another Jew, Jesus, who said,

if you knew Me, you would know My Father also. — John 8:19

Here’s another quote from yet another Jew, the Apostle John,

Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. — 1 John 2:23

Is John anti-Semitic? I suppose that would be a question to pose to alarmists like Leonard Pitts and Tim Rutten. It might be good to point these guys to books like,“Christianity is Jewish” by Edith Schaeffer

Not to mention the Bible, perhaps the most “anti-Semitic” book known to man.