What Matters Life

I just read that the Islamic State (IS) just beheaded two women accused of sorcery. The Islamic State has repeatedly employed suicide bombers, but each one only once. The carnage in Syria continues unabated with chemical weapons used allegedly by the Assad regime. Nearly forty tourists were murdered for trying to enjoy a Tunisian beach. A Frenchman went to work in the morning that same day only to be decapitated and displayed like a trophy by his employee, who it turned out is a fanatical jihadist. That same day a Shiite mosque was blown up in Kuwait by the Sunnis of IS. And on that very day, IS butchered hundreds on Kurds, including women and children. For what is alleged to be a (the) "religion of peace", it seems some Muslims do not hold life very dear.

Magicians and Engineers

The United States Supreme Court has just performed some prestidigitation in crafting their marriage and Obamacare opinions. The Court majority in both cases is determined to do feats of social engineering that have nothing to do with the US Constitution as it was written. The wizards in the majority on each case manage to twist words and in the marriage decision, invent a portion of the Fourteenth Amendment that no previous Court had ever seen. The plain meaning of language any seventh grader literate in English could understand is discarded in favor of language that simply is not in the Constitution or its amendments. The majority opinions are artfully worded to sound high-minded. Justices have actually just become a supra-legislature without ever standing for election.

Our Moral Underpinnings

As Americans, more than that, as human beings, we used to sense an obligation to conduct ourselves a certain way. We could be sexually-free, opening ourselves up to any number of sexually-transmitted diseases. Women could use abortion on demand rather than contraception (or dare I say it- a bit of restraint). We could use all manner of intoxicants. We could hurt or kill innocents under the influence of drugs or alcohol. We could condone and promote same sex liaisons and even pervert the age-old institution of marriage. We could have done all this, but for generations, we were guided by a moral compass that kept us from indulging base impulse and falling into depravity. The United States is indeed now doing all these things that earlier generations held repulsive to provoke His Righteous Wrath.

America Falling Down

Abortion nation, queer nation have sparked alienation. Marijuana is legal while tobacco is verboten in more and more of Amerika. An apostate Muslim is now our lord and master, pretending to be a Christian acting as king, calling the White House not "the People's House" but "my house", then lighting it up like the rainbow flag. Obama is a moron on foreign policy, allowing the Islamic State to run wild and opening the door to the mad mullahs of Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Around ninety-three million American adults are out of the workforce in our Obama prosperity. I have never seen my nation so downtrodden.

Our Consecrated Enterprise

America's creation was Providential. Our Founding Fathers aimed to fashion a moral nation. This country was blessed from the beginning and that blessing has extended until now as the United States has been a force for good. There is a difference between standing for liberty and slouching toward lasciviousness. We are not a better nation when we lurch to put the imprimatur of government on what every organized religion has condemned as perversion. When our country blesses gay marriage, our country forsakes the blessings of the Lord that allowed us to become the exceptional nation.

Just Another Disappointment

Anyone counting on justice or even logic from the Supreme Court of the United States needs to look somewhere else. For the second time, the nation's highest court has upheld Obamacare. Obamacare is a behemoth care rationing and wealth redistribution scheme. Death panels (under the name Independent Payment Advisory Board) are going to kill us and those we love when we need life-sustaining help the most. The death panels have already killed as I can attest as I witnessed with the medical murder of my own father Seymour Goodman. We have a new kind of Supreme Court in America, one that is simply a rubber stamp for the dictator-in-chief (thief who steals our liberty) Barack Hussein Obama.

What Lives Matter

I fervently believe "black lives matter". I am equally convinced Asian lives are just as important. I think Native American lives are of commensurate value as other lives. I am convicted that white lives are just as dear. Instead of dividing by race, why are so few trying to unite us? I was always taught that the human race is the race that matters.

A Permanent Cure

Jew-hatred is as prevalent as it has ever been. "Never again" is utterly meaningless. Millions of Jew-haters still long for a final solution. These anti-Semites want world Jewry eradicated. They celebrate each time a Jew is murdered. When Jews are killed for their faith, reports of the murder are often limited to Jewish media. Mainstream media often does not even report Jews being killed by terrorists in the Holy Land. The taking of Jewish life to them is not even worth mentioning. So long as one breathing Jew remains, there are those that will despise that Jew and blame that Jew for many of the world's problems.

A Spreading Sickness

Jews constitute a minuscule percentage of the population of the Ukraine. A leader of those who want the Ukraine to join Russia nonetheless blamed the Jews for the conflict in the Ukraine. The Jews have been lambasted by both nationalists who favor an independent Ukraine and by the other side that wants Ukraine to be a part of Russia. Anti-Semitism has not gone away. It is in fact ever-growing. Jews, who are neither numerous nor powerful in the Ukraine, are simply scapegoated by both sides in a war that has everything to do with Russians who want close relations between the Ukraine and Moscow versus Ukrainians who do not want to be subsumed by Russia. If I was a Jew in Russia or the Ukraine, I would be planning to leave.

First Father's Day

For the first time in my nearly half century, Father's Day applies to me. I am not much on holidays that are creations of greeting card companies, but that little baby means so much to me. I did not know I could love so much. Obviously, the baby is not aware of the significance of today, and will not be for a few years. Being a father (or mother) changes one's perspective on so much. Father's Day does not mean much but being a Dad is of monumental importance. I pray that I am as good a provider and protector as my father was.

Very Poor Journalism

Early reports out of Charleston had the murderer's father giving him a pistol as a twenty-first birthday present despite the son having a couple of recent drug arrests. If this were true, I was hoping that the father would also be prosecuted. It turns out the gunman bought the gun himself with money that was actually his birthday present. Somehow, the killer passed a background check in spite of his recent arrests. That is a vastly different story. Reporters should be more careful.

A Party Mentality

There is a man who looks like a little boy in jail today. He slaughtered all those innocents in Charleston. He is possessed of the same mentality as members of the Nazi Party of the World War II era. I will not grant this creature the attention of mentioning his name, which is not important. He is not important. His victims are the important ones. Who could target supplicants at prayer? Who could gun down worshipers in church? Someone who might be legally sane but who is warped to the extent that he could hardly be called human committed this devilish act.

An American Breivik

A gunman has massacred a church in Charleston, South Carolina. The murderer is white. His victims were black. Nine are now confirmed dead in this senseless outrage. Rabble-rousers have been trying to stoke the fires of racial discontent in America. It looks like some have succeeded beyond their most nefarious dreams at ginning up hate enough to spark violence. Let us hope the perpetrator is quickly brought to justice and that calmer heads prevail in our fractious national dialogue.

A National Capitulation

I am not suggesting that Greece needs to surrender her sovereignty to pay off debt. I am not recommending Greece give up her patrimony to satisfy international creditors. I would never tolerate austerity measures so severe that Greeks starve. I also realize that socialism will not solve the economic problem Greece is facing. In fact, socialism has exacerbated the difficulties Greece must overcome. Greece must maintain a degree of austerity until debts are paid down. Greece must also expand opportunity by reducing bureaucracy to open the door to free enterprise to help grow a more prosperous economy. More government will not save Greece. More capitalism might.

A National Reorganization

Greece has drowned itself in foreign debt. If Greece leaves the Euro-zone, a responsible government could pursue sane economic and fiscal policy. Unfortunately, Greece does not at the moment have such a government. Greece is being led further down the primrose path by leftist firebrands. These misleaders are the equivalent of a crashing national airplane that they intend to jump from, but they do not have any parachutes. If Greece bails on her debt now, would you do business with Greece so long as the same leaders are running that country?

Recognizing the Recession

We have learned today that, to the evident surprise of some, the manufacturing sector in the United States is technically in a recession. So-called experts were not aware that sectors of our economy were anything but booming. This demonstrates anything but expertise. We have over ninety million adult Americans who are out of the workforce in a nation of around three hundred and twenty million people. Oddly, the US dollar is strong which hurt US manufacturers by making the few goods still manufactured here expensive abroad and higher in price domestically relative to similar goods imported from nations with weaker currency. I am amazed that more Americans have not recognized how bad the Obama economy really is. The manufacturing sector being in recession simply reflects where much of the rest of the US economy actually is.

Two Way Street

The goal of policing should be to protect and serve. That objective can only be met when the community respects the police. In order for this to happen, the police must respect the populace. Otherwise, you have the broad intimidation of the public by law enforcement that constitutes a police state. In many places in the United States, particularly urban areas like Baltimore, cops are feared and hated by many. Some of the animus against police is misplaced, but some of it is justified. When police bully and browbeat those who they are supposed to be protecting, trust in the law is lost. Generations of official oppression have been visited on certain minorities and poor whites. A few prosecutions of police who have abused the rights of citizens will not erase suspicion of law enforcement by those who see nothing but tyranny when a cop approaches.

An Incredible Price

Certain promoters are claiming that the price of gold will rise to twenty-five thousand dollars per ounce. We will have greater concerns than the gold price if that $25,000 an ounce is ever realized. You might think owning gold at those prices will be great. You would be wrong. If there is that much dislocation in the world economy, only those with a phalanx of private security will be able to hold on to that gold. If you can not afford a private army in what would obviously be catastrophe, you will not have that gold or your life very long. Twenty-five thousand dollar an ounce gold would not indicate that someone made a great investment, but that the world is coming apart.

Catholics for Peace

I am sure millions of Catholic laypeople truly want to see a peaceful world. The Pope and his inner-circle are not naive when it comes to the realm of conflict. The Vatican has cynically chosen to side with the non-entity Palestine over the Jewish State. The leaders of the Catholic Church have decided to deliberately carry on a two thousand year tradition of Jew-hatred which will not advance but rather stymie the cause of peace. The Vatican pretends some moral good in siding with Muslim claims. All the Pope needs to do is look around the Middle East to see how his coreligionists are being treated. In the Arab countries, only dhimmitude or death await believing Christians. Only in Israel, are Christians not systematically being driven out, killed, or being denied rights and privileges routinely accorded to the majority Muslims. In the Middle East, only the Jewish State displays tolerance for Christians. In areas far afield from Israel like Nigeria and Somalia, Muslims persecute Christians to the point of ethnic cleansing and death. If the Pope wanted to stand on moral principle, he would embrace the one country in the midst of Muslim Arab supremacy where Christians are still free to exercise their faith without fear of being murdered. That nation would not be "Palestine" but the Jewish State of Israel.

Pope Meets Putin

The Pope apparently chastised the Russian ruler for aggression against the Ukraine. Never forget that Roman Catholics are a pronounced minority in majority Orthodox Christian Russia. The Pope's call likely fell on deaf ears. Putin is more concerned with realpolitik than with the realm of the spirit. The Pope has no army (beyond a few hundred Swiss Guards) to enforce his will. I believe almost everyone wants peace in the Ukraine. The Pope thinks that peace would mean the absence of violence. Putin thinks that peace would essentially involve Russian control of the Ukraine. Regardless of the Pope's plea, there is no prospect for peace in the Ukraine on the near horizon.

The Gold Fools

Promoters have been scaremongering to try selling gold at inflated prices for years. Savings accounts and certificates of deposit are not yielding much at all. Gold however is well off its peak valuation. If you had purchased stock in the period that the hucksters were pushing gold, chances are your stock has gained value while the price of gold is not soaring as its backers had insisted it would. It is usually good to have a diversified portfolio, and that could include some gold. I would not however want all my eggs in the proverbial gold basket.

A Fool's Gold

We are experiencing an "iron pyrite" US Presidency. Barack Hussein Obama has not been able to wish away poverty. Obama can not hope the world into peace. The full price of Obamacare is nowhere near coming due. Americans will never realize the cost of the Affordable Care Act because in both monetary and human terms (with care rationing), the expense will be incomprehensible. The Islamic State, Russia, and China are running wild because Obama's leading from behind left the world vulnerable to extremism and tyranny. Barack Hussein Obama is easily the worst US President.

Defeat Islamic State

The Islamic State (IS) does not respond to reason. Negotiation between Western nations and the Islamic State will solve nothing. Hoping that the government of Iraq or Syria's Assad will defeat the Islamic State is not a strategy. Baghdad and Damascus can not beat the Islamic State without vast outside intervention or they would have already done it. Limited drone and airstrikes can not turn the tide against the Islamic State. Even Israel is not immune to attack from the Islamic State as IS has just started to fire rockets at the Jewish State from Gaza. What will defeat the Islamic State is a concerted massive air campaign along with wide use of Western special forces on the ground to help aircraft hit the right targets and to capture or kill high value IS leaders.

An Indoor Pool

I swam in an indoor pool for the first time a couple of days back. It was over eighty degrees Fahrenheit outside when I jumped in the deep end. Talk about a shock to the system, that water could not have been warmer than 55. I turned blue. I have to say this: that indoor pool needs a heater for the water. If that water is not heated before winter, the owners are going to find they own an indoor ice skating rink.

Beginning of End

The cult of Hitler that had devoured Continental Europe started to fall seventy-one years ago today. On June 6, 1944, the forces of liberty began the invasion of France. Forces from the United States, the United Kingdom including Canada, Free Poles, and Free French began to push the Nazis back. Rommel had helped Hitler create what seemed and was a formidable defense to stop and Allied landing. Fortress Europe was not impregnable. Raw courage led to successful landings at all five beaches the Allied command had selected. On beaches code named Juno, Sword, Gold, Utah, and Omaha Beaches, thousand of young men who loved freedom more than life gave the last full measure of devotion so that Europe could be free. The Nazis clung on until May 8, 1945 but liberation began in earnest with the successful parachute drops, glider landings, and the great beach invasion of D-Day.

The Jenner Hype

I do not care if the former athlete becomes a woman or a Missouri mule for that matter, so long as he does not do either on the taxpayer dime. What concerns me is that I seem to remember a few short months ago that Jenner was involved in a wreck that killed a woman. No one seems to mention that now. I would bet more people than not can not name a single other decathlon gold medal winner. Off the top of my head I can only name two others and I used to avidly follow sport. Those two decathletes are American Dan O'Brien and the UK's Daley Thompson. I will hand Jenner this- he has found a way to renew his fame- that manages to obscure a motor vehicle death that should be the major story.

If Greece Leaves

If Greece exits the Euro, the world will not come to an end. The impact on many nations in the Euro-zone will be minimal. Even Germany, which has been spending the most to keep Greece afloat, will not collapse if the Greeks walk. Many nations will be reluctant to do business with the "new Greece" as it emerges. Ironically, at least in the short run, the country that will suffer most with a Greek exit from the Euro, will be Greece itself. The rest of Europe will be unburdened by not having to carry Greece, who has been acting as a "weak sister" pulling the rest down. The world economy did not collapse with Iceland or Cyprus and although Greece is larger, and more economically significant, the global economy will survive this too.

A Foreign Flavor

No American President has ever welcomed aliens like our current misleader. Previous US Presidents thought our border meant something. They stood for a sovereign nations with real borders. Now, we have a one-worlder in office who wants to let millions more in on top of the many millions of scofflaws who have already entered America illegally. The dumbest people on the planet must be foreigners who go through the rigmarole of trying to enter our country legally. Maybe those poor folks are the real "Dreamers".

Tearing Us Apart

It is extremely sad that a black man died in police custody in Baltimore. It is much sadder that since his death, dozens of blacks have been murdered by other blacks in that city with no great hue and cry from politicians or the media. There is a pervasive attitude in some communities not to cooperate with police, even when talking to law enforcement might stop a murderer. Now, Baltimore has descended to a place where black civilians not only do not "rat", but actively mock and harass officers trying to process locations where murders have occurred. When this happens, the murder rate soars. When people oppose all policing, anarchy naturally ensues.

The Grave Robbers

The death tax is a moral obscenity. People have been subjected to tax all their lives. Their earnings are subject to income tax. If these earnings are invested and make money, they may be subjected to capital gains tax when shares or even homes are sold. Citizens are forced to pay sales tax when they purchase most goods and some services. They are taxed separately at the local, state, and Federal levels. Their real estate is taxed and that property tax is higher than rent was when my Father moved to Nashville in the late 1930s. When you take your last breath, do you not think government has reached into your wallet enough? Why should your survivors have to forfeit what you earned to strangers? Why should families of the recently deceased have to lose businesses or farms that have been in families for generations because they must sell to satisfy the demands of the government?