Daily Grit by Wes Thorp

Does having principles and convictions mean you are an extremist?

As the two sides get ready for the fight over Judge Alito, Democrats with their seeming dependence on the notion that truth is relative.  Then when somebody comes along who believes there is absolute truth, they are labeled as an extremist.  Reminds me of what U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater said in 1964:

Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

Barry Goldwater
US politician  (1909 -  )

Some Alito background from law.com

Some good background about Judge Alito from law.com.  Interesting stuff.

Roe v. Wade; Does U.S. Constitution really allow abortion?

I'm sure both sides in the abortion issue are ready for a fight over the appointment of Judge Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Self-righteousness will flow like a raging river from both sides.

But, what's needed, in my view, at least, is a clear understanding of how the U.S. Constitution can either permit or forbid it.  I understand strict constructionism as regards the Constitution and I understand the moral arguments of both sides of the issue.

I hope the debate over the confirmation of Judge Alito  moves past the expected venom and presents the issues clearly on both sides and at all levels, moral and legal.

Fifteen years ago Sen. Kennedy said Alito had good qualifications

I just heard on the Today Show that Sen. Kennedy wholeheartedly supported Samuel Alito when he was being confirmed for the federal bench the first time.  Is that true?  What does that mean? 

Our trip to Hobby Lobby in Lansing, MI

There's a new Hobby Lobby in Lansing, MI and the Daily Grit wife wanted to check it out.  I went to their website and got a pretty significant online coupon, we went to church, had lunch, perused the full-page ad in the Lansing State Journal and then rode to the new store.

Here's what we bought:  naught, nothing, zero, zilch.

Why?  It was closed.  There was a sign in the window saying that this huge supermarket-sized craft store was closed on Sunday to allow employees to worship with their families.  Huh?  Now this was right next door to the Gift and Bible Store which was open, of course.

It was something to see the number of customers who went up to the front door of the new store to find it closed.  What a witness of the faith!  After being thwarted in their craft purchasing, they went to Gift and Bible.

Hobby Lobby is on agenda for tomorrow after church

On the westside of town, a new Hobby Lobby store opened and the Daily Grit wife wants to check it out.  If you're going to one of their stores be sure to check out their 40 percent off internet coupon on any one item.  I just printed if off.

If you're trying to find some answers about God, look here

Martin Luther's Catechism gives a kind-of executive summary of God and who he is and what he should mean in our life.  It's very readable and if you're searching for answers, it's a good starting point.  Don't get scared off by the word catechism.

Martin Luther and Reformation Day should not be forgotten

Quite frankly, I was more than a little surprised when I went to the website of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and saw there was no mention of Reformation Day tomorrow.  Nor was there mention of Martin Luther and what he did on the website of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Martin Luther was a freedom fighter of the first rank.  Corrupt Roman Catholic Popes ran the culture of the 1500's and insisted that priests and indulgences that you had to pay for were the only way you could access God. 

Think about the change because of Luther.  Before him, the church insisted that your eternity depended on stuff you did.  Luther took the Bible and showed that the price had been paid and that anybody at anytime could access God, regardless of their position of their financial worth. 

As our country and our culture faces trying times, we know there's real hope and in rests in Jesus Christ and what he's already done.  We don't have to do it through payment to some church establishment.

Peggy Noonan suggests that wheels are coming off America

I'm not sure I'm glad I took a few extra minutes to read Peggy Noonan's latest column from the link on the Drudge Report. She articulates in her piece what I feared from my experience and my observations to be the case. 

America is in trouble she says.  Our government is so overwhelmed that it is on the verge of not working to meet the steady and serious challenges that it faces.  This is not a George W. Bush thing or the fault of the Democrats necessarily. 

Our government is so big that it's almost beyond the point of being manageable.  But, more importantly, the problems that we face are nonstop, deadly serious and incessant.  It's more than we are able to handle, she says.

I could see that in August when the levees broke in New Orleans and when CNN broadcast from the New Orleans Convention Center.  Civil order vaporized because there was girdlock at all levels.  You could keep adding to the list until the seasons change.

Noonan's column is clear, but its message is hard.  Hard times are coming, she says.  History is going to be rewritten.  I feel this is something that needs to be thrown out and discussed.  It's so easy to put a false hope in a political party and in their prospects to be a change agent. 

Is Noonan right in her concerns?  Are we at the verge of governmental collapse from so many needs?  Where does the hope lie?

Mackinac Center encourages closer look at Republican jobs plan

Earlier today I pointed out a Michigan Senate Republican plan to create jobs in this state's stagnant economy.  I just spotted this piece about the proposal on the website for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland.  I can't read it now, but I will later.  They seem to be raising all kinds of red flags about what both political parties are doing.

Jesus as a revolutionary for Christmas 2005

I'm sure many churches are starting to plan their Christmas celebrations for this December.  How about the poster for this season from the Church Advertising Network in the United Kingdom?

Many may not be familiar with the Marxist revolutionary-Che Guevara who shook Latin America and Cuba.  He rocked that part of the world and others.

Jesus Christ rocked and continues to rock the WHOLE world.  And that's what we will celebrate on Christmas.  Pretty edgy poster of the young Jesus.

How can Michigan be saved?

The headline on today's online version of the Detroit News really stands out.  It asks whether Michigan can be saved with a new tax plan being proposed by the Michigan Senate Republicans.

Michigan needs saving.  Its economy is going through a major shift and the question is how the state can weather it without becoming an economic wasteland. 

How can Michigan give birth to new jobs that will support the population that lives here and make it inviting for new people to move in?

In our city where voters will select a mayor, the candidates recognize the importance of bringing jobs in, but I haven't seen evidence of how they're going to do it.  The incumbent seems to feel he is already doing this and the challenger seems to say that his youth and energy will be the answer. 

• Can Michigan make the transition from the manufacturing of automobiles to jobs that will provide compensation where families can be supported?
  
• Does anybody feel that we are moving in that direction?

Zig Ziglar on raising positive kids

I first heard Zig Ziglar on Dr. Dobson's radio show Focus on the Family.  He was talking about his book, Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World.  Our first child was just an infant and I remember Zig talked about the important of affirming your child.

He said parents should let their kids know that they think they are a winner.  I did that everyday when they went to bed.

I was reminded of that when I received Zig's e-mail newsletter this morning where the quote on the top of the page is:

"When you put faith, hope and love together you can raise positive kids in a negative world."
--Zig Ziglar

All I can say is Amen.  That's some of the best advice I ever got about raising a child.  By the way, I do feel that both of my kids are winners.    And, I praise God for that.  It was him and not me.

Michigan becoming meth hotspot

Detroit Free Press this morning has a story about how Michigan is becoming a hotspot for meth production.  It's a drug that's partially produced from ingredients in some common cold medicines and is highly addictive.

As we face local elections around the state, including our state capital city, Lansing, candidates should talk about this and how it has been combatted or how they propose to combat it.

Slave trafficking for sex in this country

I really didn't want to read about slave trafficking for sex in this country and around the world and how it is growing.  Young women and even girls are caught in this dark web which is portrayed in a new television series called Human Trafficking.

This is hard to read, but do it anyways and check the links on the bottom of the page.  This is from Chuck Colson's daily Breakpoint column.

Chuck Colson talks about assisted suicide in New Orleans hospitals

I couldn't believe it when I heard the allegations about doctors in New Orleans deciding to give lethal doses of meds to critically ill patients.  It's shades of that old Charelton Heston movie Soylent Green. 

Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship comments about this growing lack of respect for the sanctity of life and what it means for the future.  He also provides several relevant links.

Michigan high-schoolers may be required to take higher math to graduate

Math requirements for Michigan high schoolers may be ramped up to make them more competitive for high-tech jobs.  State requirements might change, according to a package of stories in today's Detroit News:

"As a result, Michigan may soon require high school students take specific math classes to graduate, and the state is rewriting math standards that expect more from students, patterning those standards after high-performing countries."

My reading list: When I get home from church

My reading list when I get home from church today:

• For Michigan to prosper, kids need to start learning big math, according to a package of stories in today's Detroit News.
• Impoverished retirement are two words from Time's cover story for this next week which is about how corporations are breaking their promises to their employees about retirement.
• Connie Mack, chair of the President's tax reform panel, talks about changes that could take more bucks out of your pocket in a New York Times magazine story.
• With Delphi's bankruptcy, what about the industrial welfare state that we've created, from this week's issue of the Weekly Standard.

Human Events, "Right Angles" Blog

I just spotted this blog from the conservative publication, Human Events.  On the surface, it looks like a good read and a good contrast to all the left-wing blogs that spew venom everytime President Bush's name is mentioned.

Back in the sixties, I was introduced to Human Events by my uncle, Paul Moll, who gave me his old issues.  It was always a good balance to the mainstream media.  But, then I got away from it and just saw it again on the web.

Snow blowers: A guide for first-time buyers from Lowes

The furance is on and you can feel winter coming which means that snow is a coming reality for this part of Michigan.  I wish I would have seen this guide to snow blowers from Lowes before I bought mine.  I have no regrets about what I purchased, but this guide points out the features and performance of different levels of machines.