A Moral Case Against Big Government: How Government Shapes the Character, Vision, and Virtue of Citizens

A very important Heritage paper. Read it.

The moral nature of governing and the moral implications for society of the nature, size, and scope of government are inescapable. The case for limited government will therefore inevitably need to take these moral considerations into account. A government that understands its main responsibility to be that of administering judgment in terms of justice will play an essential, and essentially limited, role in sustaining a healthy society. A good but limited government will both exercise the authority it is competent to wield—i.e., the power to use legitimate force to defend right—and provide conditions of justice in which local associations can exercise the authority that rightly belongs to them.

The moral case for good but limited government rests on the competency of other institutions to provide for the needs of citizens and to cultivate the virtues necessary to fulfill the moral obligations that sustain a free society. Not only can the fundamental institutions of family and religious congregations, as well as other communities of civil society, provide more personal, humanizing, holistic, and compassionate care, but they can better engender the trust and responsibility required for citizens to fulfill their moral obligations to each other.

Families and churches, as well as such other institutions as schools, businesses, sports teams, community orchestras, professional organizations, neighborhood watch committees, and faith-based and other nonprofit groups, bind their members not to abstract laws, but to other people. They are premised not on individual autonomy, but on the authority of knowledgeable and competent parents, pastors, teachers, coaches, conductors, and other leaders with the power to discipline. They motivate not solely by fear but by trust, and they are united not only by their opposition to unjust interference, but also by substantial positive goals, commitments, and convictions that they share in common.

It is therefore the responsibility of a modern nation-state that desires to bind its "many" into "one" to limit its power and its purse, leaving primary responsibility for moral formation in the hands of local moral communities. Only these associations and institutions can foster true justice and compassion for those in need—a fact that makes them essential for the cultivation of virtuous citizens and the prevention of governmental tyranny.

Hollywood drops religion from religious story

Imagine that.

Thanks to Wilberforce, the movement's most visible champion, Britain ended slavery well before America, but the abolitionist cause in America, too, was driven by Christian churches more than is often acknowledged. Steven Spielberg's 1997 "Amistad," about the fate of blacks on a mutinous slave ship, also obscured the Christian zeal of the abolitionists.

Nowadays it is all too common--and not only in Hollywood--to assume that conservative Christian belief and a commitment to social justice are incompatible. Wilberforce's embrace of both suggests that this divide is a creation of our own time and, so to speak, sinfully wrong-headed. Unfortunately director Apted, as he recently told Christianity Today magazine, decided to play down Wilberforce's religious convictions--that would be too "preachy," he said--and instead turned his story into a yarn of political triumph. The film's original screenwriter, Colin Welland, who wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed and unabashedly Christian "Chariots of Fire," was replaced.

The movie "Amazing Grace" nods occasionally in the direction of granting a role to faith in social reform, but it would do us all well to supplement our time in the movie theater by doing some reading about the heroic and amazing Christian who was the real William Wilberforce.

Can this be good? A Pickering press release...what in the...?

PICKERING JOINS MCCAIN 2008

Chip Pickering will serve as John McCain's 2008 Mississippi Chairman, Southern Co-Chairman, and member of House Whip Team

[BRANDON, MISS] – Today, Mississippi Congressman Chip Pickering (R-3 ^rd) announced he is joining the team of Senator John McCain's in his campaign for President of the United States.

"Senator John McCain is a proven leader in national security, he has demonstrated a commitment to promoting conservative values, and he has extensive experience as a fiscally responsible policy advocate. I know Senator McCain's will shoot straight with Mississippians and I am honored to chair his Mississippi campaign and help spread his message of smart, reasonable, responsible reforms across the South and across our country," Pickering said.

In a release from the John McCain 2008 Exploratory Committee, McCain announced, "The people of Mississippi are fortunate to have such a dedicated public servant fighting for them in Washington, D.C.. Chip is a tireless advocate for meaningful reforms. I look forward to working with him as we share our Republican principles and conservative values around the country. He will be a valuable member of my team."

"Voters seeking who to support as our Republican nominee for President of the United States in 2008, and then who to put in the White House, will be able to use online resources like www.johnmccain.com and www.MississippiForMcCain.blogspot.com to learn about the campaigns and the issues and make an informed decision. I look forward to being a part of that dialogue and promoting the experience, vision, and integrity of John McCain," Pickering said.

---------------------

OK - McCain supports embryonic stem cell research...

Said that "I think, uh...I think that gay marriage should be allowed if there's a ceremony kind of thing, if you wanna call it that...I don't have any problem with that."

Supported legislation to create obstacles for ministries such as American Family Radio to reach constitutents with action messages about pending legislation.

Ticked James Dobson off so much that the good doctor said he wouldn't support him under any circumstance.

Voted against the Bush tax cuts.

Supported anti economic growth initiatives to combat global warming.

Sponsored, with Ted Kennedy, a guest worker program to allow immigrants to enter the country legally.

Co-sponsored with Tom Daschle to scuttle the reduction in the highest income-tax rates.

And doesn't want to repeal Roe v. Wade "tomorrow" because "thousands of young American women would be performing illegal and dangerous operations. I want us to be a party of inclusion."

Pickering for McCain? Ouch.

New OneNewsNow column is up

We are now expected to get excited about Giuliani? Giuliani!?

Reality check on "President's Day"

"The Reagan coalition is dying, in the way great governing coalitions do: not through its failures, but through its successes.

"Think of the issues that held us together in the 1980s and 1990s: slash income taxes, spur economic growth, monetary reform, welfare reform, crime, communism and the decline of the family. Hardly any of these issues has the same political weight today because Reaganism's ideas transformed the U.S. economy, killed off communism, cut crime, stabilized inflation, and transformed welfare into workfare.

"Indeed, the irony is that the pro-family conservatives are the only part of the Reagan coalition whose problems are worse after 30 years of political effort. U.S. culture is coarser, families are weaker, schools now teach not only condoms, but gay marriage, porn is everywhere, abortion on demand is still the law, and almost 40 percent of our children are now born out of wedlock. What is the next great governing coalition? Somewhere, the next Reagan is thinking hard." - Maggie Gallagher

The "other" side of increasing cigarette taxes

As many as a quarter of all cigarettes smoked in Washington state are smuggled in from out of state or purchased tax-free online, by phone or by mail from vendors, forcing state officials to vigorously pursue contraband cigarette buyers, says the Seattle Times.

The state tax on a pack of cigarettes is nearly $2.03, the third-highest rate in the nation. The high tax has caused many to seek cigarettes elsewhere, which end up costing the state an estimated $200 million a year in lost revenue.

To combat this, the state has aggressively pursued people who buy illegal tax-free cigarettes:

o Washington has collected nearly $714,000 from about 4,500
people during the last three years.

o One Washington smoker has been informed by the state that he
owes around $8,000 in unpaid taxes, or around $617.72 for each
five-carton shipment ordered online.

o The state is even garnisheeing wages for those who don't pay;
in the example above, the state is taking 25 percent of the
man's wages, to repay what is owed.

"Cigarette-tax evasion continues to be a major problem in Washington state," Department of Revenue spokesman Mike Gowrylow said. "We believe everyone should pay a fair share of taxes, and we have an obligation to pursue unpaid taxes."

But Gowrylow also notes that the extreme cases are rare. The state has sought warrants in 31 cases, and most paid up at that point. Overall, the state has gone after people's paychecks only about eight times.

Source: Ralph Thomas, "State sends a message, smoker gets $8,000 bill," Seattle Times, February 16, 2007.

For text:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003574768_tobaccotax16m.html

For more on Taxes:

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/?Article_Category=20

O'Hara runs for everything?

Appears so. Sigh.

And yet, maybe it is not as shameful as some think to be on the fast track to laughingstockdom.

Update: Boggles the mind...but think of this: Haley Barbour runs for governor and lieutenant governor and wins both. Now THAT would be as close as you could get to King of the State. He wouldn't do it, but by law today, apparently he would have the right.

Congressional gutless wonders

Ralph Peters - spot on.

The "nonbinding resolution" telling the world that we intend to surrender to terrorism and abandon Iraq may be the most disgraceful congressional action since the Democratic Party united to defend slavery.

The vote was a huge morale booster for al Qaeda, for Iraq's Sunni insurgents, and for the worst of the Shia militias.

The message Congress just sent to them all was, "Hold on, we'll stop the surge, we're going to leave - and you can slaughter the innocent with our blessing."

We've reached a low point in the history of our government when a substantial number of legislators would welcome an American defeat in Iraq for domestic political advantage.

Thank goodness from some Senate Republicans who, at least for the moment, stopped the insanity.

A Canadian that "gets it"

Or, at least gets it on the last couple of paragraphs. Interesting read.

Nowhere is the misunderstanding of the United States more obvious than in Canada. We scream at mummy and kick daddy in the shins, knowing that it won't hurt them very much and, most importantly, that they'll never get seriously angry with us.

America still stands tall, smiling at the brat but also protecting it from its enemies. As it does most of the world. As for the lack of gratitude, it's used to it by now.

And, thank you.

TIME's take on the "Grassroots Abortion War"

Very interesting.

The pregnancy-center clinic, with its new ultrasound machine, has been open only since December, but already the staff can count the women who came in considering an abortion and changed their minds: five women converted, six lives saved, they declare, since one was carrying twins. "They connected," nurse Joyce Wilson says, recalling the reaction of the women who saw the filmy image of their fetus onscreen. "They bonded. You could just see it. One girl got off the table and said, 'That's my baby.'"

McCain sings Streisand. Really.

Speaker McCoy, Rep. Holland join together to kill three pro-life bills - and what you can do about it

House Speaker Billy McCoy has joined hands with Rep. Steve Holland to kill the three pro-life bills passed overwhelmingly by the Mississippi Senate. Speaker McCoy sent the three bills to the House Public Health and Human Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Holland of Plantersville. Chairman Holland has said that he will kill all three bills by not letting them out of his committee for a full vote by the House!

Rep. Holland has until Feb. 27 to let the bills out of his committee. If he refuses, the bills are dead. Every pro-life Mississippian should call Speaker McCoy and Rep. Holland and ask them to let the bills out of Rep. Holland’s committee. Speaker McCoy, oddly enough, claims to be pro-life, yet he sent the bills to Rep. Holland’s committee knowing that Rep. Holland has said he will kill them in committee.

Please print out copies of this letter and distribute them at church. Ask your pastor to announce it from the pulpit and encourage members to call both Speaker McCoy and Rep. Holland.

Speaker McCoy’s number is 601-359-3300. His home number is 662-728-6434. (He is usually home on the weekends when the House is not in session.)

Rep. Holland’s number is 601-359-3320. His home number is 662-844-2004. His work number is 662-840-5000. (He is usually at home or work on the weekends when the House is not in session.)

If the phone of either is busy or no one answers, keep calling.

These pieces of legislation will save the lives of many unborn children. Senate Bill 2795, prohibits abortions except for victims of rape, incest or for mothers whose lives may be in danger. Senate Bill 2801 requires doctors to offer women considering an abortion the opportunity to view a sonogram of the unborn baby. Senate Bill 2391 states that minors could not have an abortion without parental consent or permission from a court.

Trial lawyer John Arthur Eaves in

And he will try to run to the right - that's right, the right - of Haley Barbour on social issues. Only in Mississippi...

Read about it. And for those of you who heard him on the radio program this evening, what did you think?

The Old Mitt Romney

OK - you're in liberal Massachusetts trying to defeat liberal Ted Kennedy. You are bound to say some really stupid, really "Boy, I wish I could take that back" kind of things. Right? Right.

Flash poll - "Ouch!" for Haley

So our "flash polls" are hardly scientific and mean nothing. Still...

We let people call in over fifteen minutes or so and simply state their feelings for ten seconds or so on some selected issue.

Question: Since Haley Barbour is announcing this week his run for reelection, will you vote for him and why or why not?

68 percent said no. The balance, yes.

Most frequent reason for the lack of support? "The casinos are doing just fine down here on the coast (with Haley's help). But we keep waiting for the grant money that has been promised (Katrina concern).

One would hard-pressed to think that of any radio listening audience that would be more reliably in Haley Barbour's corner. Not these callers, obviously.

Mississippi Senate Passes 3 Pro-Life Bills, House Leader Vows to Kill Them

Contact Your State Representative Today!

Dear Matt,

Senate Public Health and Welfare Chairman Alan Nunnelee and the Mississippi State Senate are to be applauded for introducing and passing three excellent pieces of pro-life legislation this week. However, the bills could die as they are headed for the less-than-friendly House Public Health and Human Services Chairman Steve Holland's committee who said emphatically this week that he will kill them. Mr. Holland is vowing not to allow them out of his committee for a full and fair vote by the House of Representatives.

These pieces of legislation passed by the Senate would undoubtedly save lives as empirical data shows. Senate Bill 2795, one of three abortion-related bills the Senate approved prohibits abortions except for victims of rape, incest or for mothers whose lives may be in danger. Senate Bill 2801 would require doctors to offer women considering an abortion the opportunity to listen to their fetal or embryonic heartbeat and view a sonogram. Senate Bill 2391, which states that minors without parental consent, would need a court's permission for an abortion.

In order for these bills to receive a fair and full vote by the House, your help is needed today. As you might expect, the pro-death organization Planned Parenthood has now joined Representative Steve Holland in an all out attack on these three good pieces of legislation. But House Speaker Billy McCoy has the authority to assign these bills to a friendly committee who would allow for a fair up and down vote from the full House. Please urge your state representative to ask House Speaker McCoy to assign these good bills to a friendly committee.

Take Action

Your voice is urgently needed today on behalf of the most defenseless in our sate; the unborn! Send an email to your state representative in support of the three pieces of pro-life legislation. Please call your Mississippi Representative at home over the weekend or the switchboard next week at (601) 359-3770 with a polite but urgent message asking them to make sure the three pro-life bills wind up in a friendly committee in the Mississippi House of Representatives. Please forward this important alert to all your friends and family in Mississippi. Make copies of this AFA PASS ALONG SHEET and share it with members of your church and Sunday school class this Sunday. It is very important that our state Representatives hear from all pro-life Mississippians on these three important bills.

Click Here to Email your Representative Now!

If you think our efforts are worthy, would you please support us with a small gift? Thank you for caring enough to get involved.

Sincerely,

Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association

National Review on Rudy Giuliani

Whatever NR says needs to be considered.

Rudy vs. Hillary

Rudy vs. Hillary - here is how Peggy Noonan sees it:

But it is significant that in Mrs. Clinton's case, for the past 30 years, from 1978 through 2007--which is to say throughout most, almost all, of her adulthood--her view of America, and of American life, came through the tinted window of a limousine. (Now the view is, mostly, through the tinted window of an SUV.)

From first lady of Arkansas through first lady of the United States to U.S. senator, her life has been eased and cosseted by staff--by aides, drivers, cooks, Secret Service, etc. Her life has been lived within a motorcade. And so she didn't have to worry about crime, the cost of things, the culture. Status incubates. Rudy Giuliani was fighting a deterioration she didn't have to face. That's a big difference. It's the difference between the New Yorker in the subway and the Wall Street titan in the town car.

Call to action

Call your Mississippi representatives (not senators) today at home or office (601-359-3770 and leave a message) and politely ask them to make sure the three pro-life bills wind up in a friendly committee. Speaker Billy McCoy has the power to do that; one pro-life bill right now is languishing in less-than-friendly Steve Holland's committee.

Call! These pieces of legislation undoubtedly save lives as empirical data shows (as talked about on yesterday's show!),

What if America never existed?

Saw this somewhere on the web but have lost the reference. At any rate, remember the movie It's a Wonderful Life? The Jimmy Stewart character got the opportunity to see what life would have been like without him.

So, the question. What would the world be like if America never existed? The politics, the economics, the spirituality?

Abortion doctors...the dregs of the profession

Good read.

Should Mitt Romney's Mormon beliefs concern Christian voters?

Tell me.

New OneNewsNow column is up

Check it out.

Question for the weekend...

First, the report:

The Population Research Institute says the Western world is facing a crisis as virtually every country has birth rates well below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman.

Hear This Report

A pro-family organization has done extensive research into birth rates around the world and has concluded that if the Western world wants to survive, it better start having more children. The Population Research Institute (PRI) says virtually every Western or Westernized nation on the planet is slowly dying off because birth rates have fallen below the 2.1-child-per-woman replacement level.

PRI spokesman Joseph D'Agostino says for the most part, only Muslims have high birth rates. "It's because Christians and Jews are refusing to have children, refusing to get married, [and] having such low birth rates that the Muslims are going to inherit the Earth," he explains. "It's not anything the Muslims are doing; it's what Christians and Jews are not doing. If you don't want the world to turn into Saudi Arabia, maybe people other than Muslims need to start having some kids at the rate the Muslims are having kids."

And now, the question: Why are Americans having so few kids? Something wrong with us?

Fascinating analysis - Presidential faith and foreign policy

This Heritage paper gives you a trip through the faith of Bush, Truman and Wilson and shows how beliefs might just impact foreign policy.

Guess who is running for U.S. Senator from Minnesota?

Question of the day!

Could you vote for Rudy Giuliani as the GOP nominee for president?

Pro-homosexual rights, thrice-divorced, pro-abortion, gun control advocate...

Could you?

Well, does He?

Check it out.