Conservative Musings

Latest Talking Points

I'm sure by now you've heard the latest talking point from the left, something to the tune of "Jesus Christ was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a governor."  No doubt left as to who, in the presidential election, is being equated with whom.

A caller from Atlanta yesterday on Bill Bennett's radio show reminded me of the Good Friday story.  In Luke 23, verses 1-25, the story of Pilate is told.  Along with the parallel story in the other 3 gospels, this showed a man struggling with making a decision either up or down, yes or no.  Finally, in a desperate decision, he gave in to the wishes of an almost riotous crowd.  The rest as they say is history.

To paraphrase the caller from Atlanta, Pontius Pilate was the one who voted "present" in the story.  As a side note, Jesus' answers seemed to always be yes or no.  He even preferred yes or no answers (See Matthew 5:37).

These things coming from the Barack Obama campaign, like this, the pig/lipstick issue, and the McCain email issue, seem to show a campaign that can't get their stories quite straight.

-Colonel Steve

Joe Biden Making Abortion A Religious Issue

On today's Meet The Press, Joe Biden has come down to defining life itself as a religious definition, not a legal, moral, or scientific one.

SEN. BIDEN: I'd say, "Look, I know when it begins for me." It's a personal and private issue. For me, as a Roman Catholic, I'm prepared to accept the teachings of my church. But let me tell you. There are an awful lot of people of great confessional faiths--Protestants, Jews, Muslims and others--who have a different view. They believe in God as strongly as I do. They're intensely as religious as I am religious. They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views as to when life--I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception. But that is my judgment. For me to impose that judgment on everyone else who is equally and maybe even more devout than I am seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society. And I know you get the push back, "Well, what about fascism?" Everybody, you know, you going to say fascism's all right? Fascism isn't a matter of faith. No decent religious person thinks fascism is a good idea.

MR. BROKAW: But if you, you believe that life begins at conception, and you've also voted for abortion rights...

SEN. BIDEN: No, what a voted against curtailing the right, criminalizing abortion. I voted against telling everyone else in the country that they have to accept my religiously based view that it's a moment of conception. There is a debate in our church, as Cardinal Egan would acknowledge, that's existed. Back in "Summa Theologia," when Thomas Aquinas wrote "Summa Theologia," he said there was no--it didn't occur until quickening, 40 days after conception. How am I going out and tell you, if you or anyone else that you must insist upon my view that is based on a matter of faith? And that's the reason I haven't. But then again, I also don't support a lot of other things. I don't support public, public funding. I don't, because that flips the burden. That's then telling me I have to accept a different view. This is a matter between a person's God, however they believe in God, their doctor and themselves in what is always a--and what we're going to be spending our time doing is making sure that we reduce considerably the amount of abortions that take place by providing the care, the assistance and the encouragement for people to be able to carry to term and to raise their children.

This logic becomes rather scary.  Much of our own moral code has been codified into our legal system.  Anyone who says we can't legislate morality fails to mention that historically, we already have.  Granted, we can't MAKE someone moral, that's why we have prisons.  But we can legislate what we believe a moral life is to be.

We've legislated several parts of that moral code in our laws against things like stealing and murder.  "Thou shall not steal" has been codified into laws defining misdemeanor and felony types of theft.  "Thou shall not kill" has also been codified into our murder laws.  What if our definition of life drifts further from the traditions we've hold now?  What if something strange eventually occurs, that anyone 30 and over really isn't alive?  Do we recreate Logan's Run?  Crazy, maybe, but look at our current devaluing of senior citizens lives when decisions are being made that lean towards euthanasia.

Joe Biden attempts to split his own personality.  He says he can't stand behind his own belief system when it comes to making laws.  Granted, we seem to have plenty like him in office, who have such a split personality.  If they should ever say, in the future, that they believe in something to the core of their being, should we believe them?  Should we allow them to vote then, if they use the core of their being to guide their vote on something else?

Sad.  Sorry to see that the people of Deleware, who elected Joe Biden, didn't get all of him.  He left some of himself in his church pew.

-Colonel Steve

Lost Touch With Their Religous Beliefs

Looks like Nancy Pelosi has been told, very nicely, to quiet down.  That, after she has effectively told her church leadership that they were wrong.  Interesting.  I keep forgetting which ones have the theology degrees.

After all the Pelosi craziness, now Barack Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential running mate, for a number of reasons.  One of those reasons I'm sure is an attempt to attract the Catholic vote.  As Ed Morrissey notes, Joe has extremely similar beliefs to good ole Nancy.  Somehow, I don't think Biden's abortion beliefs are going to attract diehard Catholics.  Or pro-life Protestants like me.

-Colonel Steve

Pelosi and MSM Cover-up

You may have heard about Nancy Pelosi's mis-conceptions concerning her own church's beliefs about abortion.  But I bet you haven't heard it in the Main Stream Media.  Hugh Hewitt makes the great connection: "It is remarkable that this story hasn't made it into the MSM --which means either the MSM doesn't pay attention to the Roman Catholic leadership or that they are covering for Pelosi and her abortion extremism, and by extension, Obama's."  Not too remarkable, considering that Barack Obama's marketing arm and the Main Stream Media are one and the same.

-Colonel Steve

Nancy Pelosi, The Early Church and Abortion

Wow.  The boldness of Nancy Pelosi to basically say that her own Catholicism has struggled to define when life begins and struggled to define abortion as murder until recently.

Some of her quotes:

I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time.  And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition.  And Senator–St. Augustine said at three months.

As I say, the Catholic Church for centuries has been discussing this....

So again, over the history of the church, this is an issue of controversy.

Oh really?  Ed Morrissey, a practicing Catholic himself, disagrees.

The notion that the Catholic Church declared abortion a sin at the same time as the Pill is patently absurd, and shows that Pelosi has either lied about studying the issue in terms of Church history or lied about what she found.  Church writings specifically naming abortion as murder appear as early as 70 AD in the Didache, the first written catechism of the Christian church:

“The second commandment of the teaching: You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not seduce boys. You shall not commit fornication. You shall not steal. You shall not practice magic. You shall not use potions. You shall not procure [an] abortion, nor destroy a newborn child” (Didache 2:1–2 [A.D. 70]).

Ed goes on:

The Catholic catechism is extremely clear on the nature of its position on human life, and has been remarkably consistent on this point for almost 2,000 years, and it finds that position in the Old Testament. Human life begins at conception, not at birth, and not at some point consistent with Roe for convenience.  In Psalm 51, David refers to his sinfulness beginning at the moment of conception, and sinfulness requires physical life and a soul to exist.

A point that the pro-life camp, both Catholics and Protestants, agree on.  That God Himself designed and knew us while yet in the womb: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."  Or so He said to Jeremiah (1:5).  Setting apart a blob of matter?  If it's just a blob of matter, why did God care about it so?  If cared for by God, who are we to choose the time of it's ending?

Ed Morrissey's points are very well taken.  Pelosi's comments are for those who like talking points.  Those who don't dig deep into history.  Sad, many are going to believe every word she says.

-Colonel Steve

Being Invisible

Nicole Johnson, on being the invisible woman:

It struck me, watching this, that Nicole's talk was applicable to a bigger audience than just the women in attendance.  In a big way, she was talking to all of us.

The greatness we see around us today, here in America, was built by a few "named" people and many "nameless", invisible ones.  People that time has erased their names, but not what they've built.

Many of the nameless were not attempting to get their names recorded in history books, and they succeeded in that.  Many of the named were also not attempting to be recorded in history.  In that, they did not succeed, but what they did in building this country is still fondly remembered.

Today's politics seems to have bred a third type of person.  A person not only seeking to do something great, but to be recorded in history as great as well.  One who wishes to be oh so visible in all that they do so others will note it and praise them for it.

I hope the ones I speak of realize that greatness is not something they can control individually, but is something future times will note when it is time to write about them.  If it should pass that nothing is written about them, does that belittle the greatness they do today?  I think not.  Doing something only to be noticed so cheapens the greatness one strives for.

-Colonel Steve

The Real China

The real side of China reared it's ugly head as part of President George W. Bush's visit to Sunday services in Beijing.  The kind of thing I thought would happen did - another christian taken into custody while heading to this same service, then hidden away who knows where.

Folks wonder why some complain about the Olympics being hosted in China.  Need we say more?

-Colonel Steve

Chic-Fil-A founder shows mercy with consequences

Chic-Fil-A's founder's home was vandalized by three female teenagers causing over $30,000 in damages.  He did not want them to have to go through the court system because he felt this would not make them better citizens but possibly make them worse.  So, he devised a punishment for them so they will not end up with a record.  Truett Cathy has spent many years with youth from being a Sunday School teacher and helping young people through a foundation called Winshape.  Winshape supports programs that help young people succeed and influences their lives in positive ways.

For these young truants, the punishment was "a 1000 sentences of “I will not vandalize other people’s property”, no TV and video games for six months, reading a “good book” for three hours a day and submitting weekly written book reports to him for 13 weeks."

I applaud Truett Cathy for this approach and for his many accomplishments in remaining faithful to his calling.  Truett Cathy's business, Chic-Fil-A still remains closed on Sunday so that employees can spend time in church and with their families.  Two things he feels are very important. 

-Lady Colonel

Obama McCain Together

Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest California has managed to get both presidential candidates on the same stage at the same time.  Barack Obama and John McCain will be at Saddleback on August 16th.

Intriguing.  I'm afraid, tho, that it'll somehow be much like being interviewed by the MSM....softball questions for Obama, hardball for McCain.  I'd actually like the idea, if I didn't have this underlying fear.  With no "seperation of church and state" folks hollering yet, I'm even more concerned.

-Colonel Steve

Obama's Need For "Whiteout"

Lately, Barack Obama must be looking for a bottle of Whiteout, that old correction fluid used in the good old days of typewriters.  He seems to be using some of that, as he addressed a conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  As Hugh Hewitt put it, "It is a certain that Obama wants to airbrush Pastor Wright and his views from the candidate's biography."  Right along with the Washington Post's help.

Lest we forget, Obama seems to also wish a blackout on his prior comments on late term mental health abortions.  He quotes recently in a Relevant magazine interview: "Now, I don't think that "mental distress" qualifies as the health of the mother. I think it has to be a serious physical issue that arises in pregnancy, where there are real, significant problems to the mother carrying that child to term.."  Now he's backpedaling a little (covered by "clarifying" his comments) by saying that:

"Mental distress is not an illness." (campaign senior spokesman Linda) Douglass said. "He absolutely believes and has always said there has to be a health exception for serious physical and mental illness."

Basically stating that abortions are ok if mentally ill, but not ok during just mental distress.  These nuances are going to haunt him among the abortion-for-all-reasons group of the pro abortion side.  Which seems to be mostly all of them.

-Colonel Steve