Regulators, Investigators, Cover-ups and Christians

As I've mentioned previously one of the most striking things to be revealed as a result of the recent leaks has been the relationship between the corporate sector and the US government.

It's long been known that the figures at the top of the economic world rotate in and out of government. In many cases the regulators are literally people who have just left the banking industry. It's the foxes guarding the henhouse.

Putin's Apologia and the Post-Cold War Russian Narrative

The text of Putin's 18 March speech can be found at this link:

http://praguepost.com/eu-news/37854-full-text-of-putin-s-speech-on-crimea

Very interesting. His arguments are pretty sound and logical and they are in line with what some have been saying since the 1990's.

Our media will not report any of this. Dare anyone ask why?

Trinity and Beyond

If you haven't seen this movie, then make a point to do so. Even if you're a fan of Nuclear Weapons, you should watch this movie.

Does Non-Violence mean no corporal punishment?

I left this comment in response to a post which suggested that we need to ban all forms of corporal punishment and spanking. While I certain got my share as a child and in fact what I received certainly strayed into the realm of abuse, I still believe children need correction, and in the end what does the Bible itself say?

The Pope, the President and Dispensational Hermeneutics

There's something not a little amusing about seeing pictures of Obama with Francis the Roman Catholic Pope. Conspiracy and so-called Prophecy buffs will be having a field day.

However despite their fears and wary visions of a One World Religion, the truth is these two have little in common.

Employer-Based Health Care and the 14th Amendment

I find the Christian commentary regarding the Hobby Lobby case in the Supreme Court to be lacking. Most Christians are not grasping the legal issues at stake. The justices who seem hostile to the Hobby Lobby argument have rightly identified this as not being about religious freedom but a back-door attempt to revisit the abortion debate.

I am 100% against abortion but this issue is constantly used as political leverage by those in the Christian Right who pursue an overall agenda that I cannot agree with. Ironically their activities have done much to undermine the integrity of the legal system and in the end (I think) have harmed their greater cause.

An Inconvenient Phone or a Convenient Scam?

Reports are coming in that tax scammers are utilizing 'burner' phones, those Trac and Net10 phones that you can purchase anonymously, pay-as-you-go, and throw away.

Somehow they're able to have the phone register as 'IRS' on the recipient's caller ID and then convince them to send money or provide other information which can be utilized in identity theft and other scams.

Ministry Downfalls, Corruption and Pendulum Swings (3)--- Follow The Money

The one thing that is also striking is the gross and wanton misuse and abuse of money. Some of this is coming out. We see it with Vision Forum, and even in ministries that haven't quite collapsed yet...the Mark Driscoll's and James MacDonald's. These people in addition to being awful teachers have abused their offices and enriched themselves.

Average people are rightly shocked and would be a great deal more if they really learned how these ministries work. Houses, cars, utilities, meals and travel can all be paid for by the 'ministry'. That's the secret to living well under this system. Get the ministry to pay for everything and then at that point your salary which for many of these guys can be several hundred thousand a year is in reality a great deal more.

Ministry Downfalls, Corruption and Pendulum Swings (2)

I'm all for having a big family.                                  

But for these folks they're motivated by Dominion and a desire to produce Dominion warriors. This is the real motivation behind Quiverfull. It's about demographic strategy and the conquest of culture.

I think the Bible teaches specific roles for men and women and that plays out in how we raise our children or think about family structure and roles.

Ministry Downfalls, Corruption and Pendulum Swings

I've spent some time the last few days reviewing the latest news and commentary regarding the downfall of some well known ministries. It seems like they've been falling one right after another. From Gothard to Vision Forum, to Sovereign Grace Ministries some real popular and influential 'ministries' have been taken down by scandal.

The sad part is the resulting pendulum swings. Some of these groups have taken whatever issue they've chosen to emphasize too far. In some cases they're not altogether wrong but by overemphasizing it, effectively making it part of the gospel... the reaction can be pretty severe. The pendulum (as it were) swings from one extreme to the other.

A Few Thoughts on Congressional Oversight, the rise of the Unitary Executive, and the Corporate Media

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/06/07/the-intelligence-committee-cant-tell-you-what-theyre-not-telling-you/

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130810/09240524136/jennifer-hoelzers-insiders-view-administrations-response-to-nsa-surveillance-leaks.shtml

There's a lot to read here and it's pretty maddening. While our Congress is playing petty politics they are in the process of slitting their own throats. They're inaction continues to empower a shadow government that has now put the Congress itself in a state of paralysis and fear.

Campus Recruiting or Spying?

http://texascivilrightsreview.org/wp/2098/author-warns-about-the-cia-on-campuses-short-interview-with-philip-zwerling/

http://www.counterpunch.org/2005/03/12/the-cia-s-campus-spies/

Government agencies recruiting on college campuses is nothing new but there have been several stories in the post-2001 era that are a little troubling in light of all the new surveillance data that is being made available through Snowden and Wikileaks.

Tailored Access Operations

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-nsa-uses-powerful-toolbox-in-effort-to-spy-on-global-networks-a-940969.html

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/29/der-spiegel-nsa-hacking-unit-tao

If the NSA is interested in monitoring you more closely we now have information that they will actually intervene in the retail process and physically get a hold of purchased hardware in order to insure their spyware is installed.

Why the Christian Media isn't overly interested in the CAR conflict.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-central-african-republic-president-samba-panza-a-955403.html

There's sure been plenty of focus on South Sudan and the struggles of American ally Kenya, but the 'Christians' in the Central African Republic are getting little notice.

CRH and Schumer: A window into the Military Industrial Complex at work

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/05/us-usa-fiscal-airforce-helicopter-idUSBREA2406E20140305

Just because a Senator has the label of Democrat attached to his name it doesn't mean that he's not part of the Imperial project or that he's somehow out to undermine and destroy the country.

Conspiracy in Turkey: The Cyber-threat to Government Stability

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/07/turkey-erdogan-facebook-youtube-ban-elections

Governments in crisis and especially a government like Turkey with a long history of shadowy conspiracy are terrified by social networking.

The ICC and Lack of Credibility

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/07/us-warcrimes-congo-katanga-idUSBREA260GZ20140307

Of course it's a good thing that some of these murderers are being taken out of circulation and removed from command. The atrocities in Africa quickly multiply in part because of the remote locales (like Katanga) but also because few in the West seem to really care. I'm certain investigative journalists must at times completely despair over the seeming futility of their work.

Some Historical Notes on Music in Worship

http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVarticles/AmazingHistoryOfInstrumentalMusic.htm

Obviously the Bible is the ultimate standard. But we don't live in a vacuum. Our ideas are deeply imbedded and without realizing it many of the categories we embrace stem from extra-Scriptural thinking.

A key part of Sanctification is the 'renewal of the mind'. We are regenerated but we are also being regenerated and we need to learn to think through... everything.

Some Comments on Theonomy

For some helpful and entertaining commentary I recommend the essay available here:

http://theonomists.blogspot.com/

While few Theonomists wish to still lay claim to the name, the general concepts are alive and well.

Forgotten Moldova

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/russia-tries-to-keep-moldova-from-getting-close-to-eu-a-956597.html

With everything going on in the Ukraine I've been wondering why there hasn't been more discussion about Transnistria, Moldova, Abkhazia and the 'game' going on in Central Asia. A larger perspective on the geopolitics and history since the end of the Cold War would help people to understand why the US/EU and Russia are in this tug-of-war over Ukraine.

Bitcoin Creator Exposed?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/07/us-bitcoin-inventor-idUSBREA252D820140307

Of course he doesn't want to be identified!

With as many curses as the Internet has brought and all the potentialities for government power, there are also the blessings and opportunities.

Multinational Industrial Agriculture: A Spoke in the Imperial Wheel

Through Wikileaks we learned that the Bush administration wanted to punish EU countries that wouldn't accept the importation and use of genetically modified (GM) crops. This wasn't the first time the administration went to bat for Monsanto and the 'Big Agra' conglomerates.

Even a blind squirrel gets an acorn every once in awhile.....

But in the case of Palin I don't think she really got an acorn. I too used to live in Wasilla Alaska but just living there didn't make me an expert on geopolitics.

An ICBM test turned into a propaganda point

Several times today I heard an example of irresponsible news reporting.

The Russians just tested an ICBM and of course this made the news because of the current crisis in Ukraine... or 'the' Ukraine depending on your politics.

The Opt Out: The Supreme Court's contribution to the undermining of the Affordable Care Act

Advocates and defenders of the Affordable Care Act cheered in 2012 when the Supreme Court upheld the legislation. Rather than a mandate, mandatory participation was viewed as a tax and on those grounds was able to stand and not violate the various Constitutional concerns.

Put No Confidence in Princes: The Romeike Asylum Case

http://www.salon.com/2014/03/03/supreme_court_wont_hear_german_home_school_case/

I feel terrible for the Romeike family. While I do not agree with those that they've thrown in with or those that have taken up their cause, I still empathize with their situation.

The Scary State of Law Enforcement and the Judiciary

Many will have already heard of this case but it continues to make the news. The 'West Memphis Three' is another sad tale of out of control investigators and prosecutors who desperate to solve a case end up convicting innocent people. And then when exposed, rather than admit they were irresponsible in their investigation, do all they can to continue to destroy the lives of the innocent people they have incarcerated. In many cases the actual guilty parties end up escaping.

The Euxine Crisis: Russia, America and Europe

One of the primary reasons the United States invaded Panama in 1989 was to ostensibly protect the lives of its citizens. Few were convinced of this as the timing was more than a little coincidental.

A Few More Comments on Vocation

This is a recent edition of Issues Etc.... dealing with the topic of Vocation.

http://issuesetc.org/2014/02/28/3-the-dignity-of-christian-vocations-edie-wadsworth-22814/

In this programme the guest specifically speaks of our work being sanctified and led by the Spirit. I don't believe this is warranted from a study of the New Testament.

The Fall of the House of Gothard

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/02/28/conservative-leader-bill-gothard-placed-administrative-leave-following-abuse-allegations/

Very interesting. The article also mentions Doug Phillips of Vision Forum. Phillips is the son of the late Howard Phillips a name well known in Theonomic and Christian Right circles.