Huckabee: "New Libertarianism" a Threat to GOP

"The greatest threat to classic Republicanism is not liberalism; it's this new brand of libertarianism, which is social liberalism and economic conservatism, but it's a heartless, callous, soulless type of economic conservatism because it says 'look, we want to cut taxes and eliminate government. If it means that elderly people don't get their Medicare drugs, so be it. If it means little kids go without education and healthcare, so be it.' Well, that might be a quote pure economic conservative message, but it's not an American message. It doesn't fly. People aren't going to buy that, because that's not the way we are as a people. That's not historic Republicanism. Historic Republicanism does not hate government; it's just there to be as little of it as there can be. But they also recognize that government has to be paid for.

"If you have a breakdown in the social structure of a community, it's going to result in a more costly government ... police on the streets, prison beds, court costs, alcohol abuse centers, domestic violence shelters, all are very expensive. What's the answer to that? Cut them out? Well, the libertarians say 'yes, we shouldn't be funding that stuff.' But what you've done then is exacerbate a serious problem in your community. You can take the cops off the streets and just quit funding prison beds. Are your neighborhoods safer? Is it a better place to live? The net result is you have now a bigger problem than you had before." (Thanks to LewRockwell.com)

So Mike Huckabee not only states that the constitutional movement goes against traditional Republican principles, he does so by essentially equating it with anarchism. Amazing and sad, but that's the modern political realm. If Huckabee really believed in the principles of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, wouldn't he realize that the Constitution is the best defense for traditional values, and a strong but compassionate economic system, existing today?


From Josiah

The Dreaded "D" Word

Here is an article from Andrew Strom, a preacher from Australia, and Director of RevivalSchool.com. His point on greed may be applied to government as well; our democracy has done exactly what James Madison said democracy always did - it has gone bankrupt from people voting to give themselves funds out of the public treasury. Returning to the rule of Law is the only way to avoid a crisis like we probably cannot imagine.

People hate it when David Wilkerson talks about it - and they hate it just as much when I talk about it. But right now I have to bring it up again because of what is happening. Yesterday WorldNetDaily published the following:

"Alarm: China signals flight from dollar- Investment CEO says he's 'never seen people more nervous' An unprecedented signal from senior Chinese leaders that the Asian economic giant might abandon the U.S. dollar sent shockwaves through the markets today as the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 360 points and the greenback fell to arecord low against the euro.
Xu Jian, a Chinese central bank vice director, told a conference in Beijing, "The dollar is "losing its status as the world currency." Meanwhile, at the same meeting, Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of China's National People's Congress, said, "We will favor stronger currencies over weaker ones, and will readjust accordingly." Craig Smith, CEO of Swiss America Trading Corp., told WND he's been in the investment business for 30 years and has "never seen people more nervous." Alarmed by today's economic news, he dispatched a note to brokers with a warning of ominous potential consequences if China and other trading partners abandon the dollar. "If that were to happen, all bets are off, and we will be in a depression that makes 1929 look like child's play," he said, "or we will experience Weimar Republic inflation as the dollar makes extreme moves toward devaluations." [- http://worldnetdaily.com ]

A. STROM Again: Actually, according to all the data that I have seen, the Dollar situation is not even the worst of the problems.There is a global Credit Crunch underway - affecting giant banks and Investment companies the worst - and every day we are getting news of MULTI-BILLION dollar write-downs. All of this is linked to the Housing and Mortgage crisis in America - and its effects are being felt worldwide. -And it is growing worse.

This Credit crisis by itself actually threatens the entire SYSTEM -no exaggeration. And it is already underway - NOW. Many international banks are in crisis mode already - but how long it takes to reach "Main Street" is difficult to know. There is already some fallout. For instance, giant retailers such as Wal-Mart reported yesterday their worst October in over a decade. But this is just the beginning of sorrows.

As one commentator put it today: "The dollar fell another 2 per cent last night, gold soared to $840 per ounce, oil topped $98 per barrel, General Motors reported a $39 billion loss after the market closed on Tuesday, the real estate market continued its downward slide, and the major investment banks are marching in lock-step towards bankruptcy..."

For many months now we have been saying that this Housing bust will be the worst (by far) that this nation has ever seen. This is no longer a "controversial" viewpoint. Even many of the most mainstream economists now openly admit the same thing.

The "D-WORD" that I mentioned in the title of this article is, of course, the word "DEPRESSION". I continue to stand by my statement of many months ago that within 3 years this nationwill be in a terrible financial depression - possibly the worst thatit has ever seen. Right now, things are right on track to see this fulfilled.

But WHY?? The answer to this question mostly lies in one word - "GREED".

There has been an absolute orgy of Greed in this country - from the Investment Bankers selling shady Mortgage-Backed Securities to the condo flippers and Real Estate Appraisers and "Junk Bond"specialists and "Liar's Loan" officers. And what is left is an absolute mountain-pile of shameful, unethical financial garbage - which nobody is willing to swallow any more. -And then there are the DERIVATIVES. -A market worth over $400 TRILLION which, if itever gets infected by this toxic junk (-which is close to happening), may cause the WORST SYSTEMIC AVALANCHE that the world has ever seen. GREED is the word. At the end of the day, all of this has been for the love of the Almighty Dollar. In fact, even CHRISTIAN AMERICANS love the Almighty dollar so much that they are willing to make up ENTIRE DOCTRINES to prove that God loves money just as much as they do. It is a new kind of gospel - never seen in the history of the world before.

The Americans invented it and spread it around the earth. And now, even in REVIVAL COUNTRIES, this gospel of greed is taking over. Carter Conlon says that he was in a poor African nation recently where there are 700,000 little children living without parents on the streets - and yet the PASTORS ARE DRIVING BMW's and preaching SELFISH PROSPERITY. Where did they get such sickness? -They got it from America. We beam it to them live by satellite. And this is why I believe God is about to make an EXAMPLE of the USA. -He has to. All the nations follow her lead. The entire church worldwide looks to her for guidance. And she has become a center of corruption and spiritual sickness almost without precedent in the history of the world. She has made the whole earth "drunk" with her fornications, her movies, her MTV, her music, her rebellion, her love of money. And so I am convinced that God is about to make an 'example' of her before all nations. He cannot have a "Christian" country spreading such things in the earth.

When I am in Nigeria again this February I plan to preach this very thing. -That God is making an example of America so that all the nations will fear. -That this is what happens when you follow a creed of "God wants me rich", of pleasure-seeking, materialism, selfishness and greed. -That God is about to demonstrate to the whole earth what will happen to such a nation. Do you think He is just going to stand by and watch us ruin His Revivals forever?

God has a controversy with you, America. He is girding Himself up for war. I hope you are ready to find out what it is like to get yourself on God's "wrong side".

Enjoy the coming Christmas, America. It may be your last really enjoyable one for a very long time.

This article is being discussed at- http://www.revivalschool.com


A watchman of the Lord, Andrew Strom.

Propaganda on Bible Doctrine: A Summary

There are a number of propaganda techniques available for use by misinformers, and we all know what they are. However, I will give an overview here of how they seem to be used in discussions on Bible doctrine. You name the issue, if you are right and another is wrong and they know it but don't want to change, you will more than likely have one of these thrown at you. I've had it happen to me on more than one occasion.

The most important lesson for us to learn from this list is how not to defend our own ideas. If we are wrong, we should admit it and be willing to modify our positions to conform to Biblical truth.

Emotional appeal - "But don't you know, that's so divisive!" or "Can't you just see how much trouble (fill in the blank) has caused you?"

Straw man - "So you believe in (THIS obviously un-Biblical position!)"

Endorsement - "What about all the godly men that have believed (this)?" or "(So-and-so) believes (this), do you really think he's wrong?"

Non Sequitur - "(The weather is so nice today); what you're saying is a lie from the devil!"

Red Herring - "(The weather is so nice today.)"

Circular reasoning - "I believe (this) is true; I wouldn't believe it if it weren't true."

And the all-time favorite:

Bandwagon - "The vast majority of Christians hold to (this), why don't you?"


Thanks From Josiah

Pharyngula link

I found another atheist site which is "concerned" with our supposed neo-Nazi endeavors: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/09/r_josiah_magnuson.php

The comments are hilarious, especially towards the bottom. Several are a bit too juicy though.

Check it out if you want. From Jos

Laughs from Zenoferox

The following is a post on a blog by someone named Zenoferox. He is an atheist who tracked and wrote about the Gene Chapman Presidential campaign. More like, had fun with it. In any case, he has taken an interest in me and has begun writings regarding our various LibertyInLaw projects, specifically now, the YCLA. In the past few days the number of visits here has thus become quite astronomical. Thanks, Zeno! :-)

The really amazing part about reading this stuff is the high degree of emotional wording which he can generate. Ready, set,… dive in:

They grow up so fast

My in-box contained a new message from my friend PiD:

With 20 minutes to kill, I thought I'd look up our good friend Josiah. I found this on his blog. Pretty scary, no?

My curiosity was piqued, so I followed the provided link to R. Josiah Magnuson's thrilling announcement concerning the Young Christian Leaders' Alliance. The YCLA doesn't have a theme song by the Village People yet, but PiD is right about it being just a little scary (with maybe just a touch of déjà vu).

(At this point there is a sarcastically-posted picture. It portrays the despotic face of Hitler with a handsome German boy superimposed on him with a look of awe presumably for Der Furher and the Reich – do I have to be any more graphic? Suffice it to say it was a banner propagating government mind-control.) Well. *Cough.*

I don't even know what the "Village People" are… But let's read on.

Josiah is the diligent young creationist who likes to smite godless evolutionists and has twice won runner-up honors in the Answers in Genesis essay contest. He dallied with the quixotic presidential campaign of right-wing nut-case Gene Chapman, serving as the candidate's Intelligent Design advisor until Chapman dropped out. (Did you even know he was ever in?) Undeterred by the Chapman fiasco,

Let's just stop right there. :-D My! Yes, Zeno is correct that I was Advisor on ID to Mr. Chapman. I don't remember it being a fiasco, though! The point of the candidacy was to attempt to unite the pro-freedom Third Parties in an alliance under the battle-flag of anti-Communism. One of the main reasons Mr. Chapman asked me to be on his team was because I was the one who gave him the Third-Party-Alliance idea. I did not view him, however, as an ideal candidate to bring it about. The campaign is, for me, not so much something to add to one's credentials but something to have learned from. Nor did I ever view it as anything different.

Josiah has moved on to new political endeavors, including promulgating a new constitution for the YCLA. The signing ceremony on September 8 was a solemn occasion.

Upon putting down my signature for the Constitution, I got a peculiar feeling—like I was going to throw up, or cry for joy, or scream, or something like that. Whatever. No, though, I didn't do any of those. However, my face in the picture shows my feeling, if you can see it:

In the grand tradition of paramilitary organizations, brown-shirted Josiah

Actually it was a gray shirt with red epaulets

was accompanied by an armed honor guard. (The boys with the guns dug out their khakis, but apparently didn't have the right shirts to complete the earth-tone ensemble.)

And, of course, there was a flag-bearer.

(At this point there is another Nazi picture, giant size, emotional, with a red-haired teenager waving a giant German Austria swastika flag.)

OK. The deal with some people is that they find bizarre associations with Hitler in everything which opposes them. I am not that way, and I do not intend to become Hitler. If you think the principles of the Christian religion are neo-Nazi or despotic, I pity you, and pray that you will come to find God's liberty and complete forgiveness.

Josiah provides a convenient summary of the doctrines that lie at the core of the YCLA constitution:

1. God's Words are pure; KJV is the most accurate version. 2. The Members of the Trinity are distinct but act totally harmoniously. 3. Creation was by direct act of God. 4. Man is equal in humanity, responsibility, and rights. 5. Authorities are to be respected; must be obeyed when commands do not violate Scripture. 6. Individuals are naturally free to make decisions over their own consciences. 7. Death and suffering came by sin. 8. Man must have faith in Christ and His atonement to be saved from sin. 9. Baptism is correct and is by immersion. 10. Heaven and Hell are literal. 11. Christ will bodily return to Earth.

As anyone could clearly see, these doctrines ineluctably lead to some practical philosophical principles:

God the Creator has established unchangeable Laws for the universe. The Law for man is found in the Bible. Disobedience of God's Law is sin. Because the first man, Adam, sinned, everyone has inherited the same disposition. The only way to be freed, and escape sin's punishment (death), is to trust in Christ who died in place of us. Christ also rose again, went to Heaven, and will one day return to decimate His enemies. Until then, believers should continue to grow in their faith, and endeavor to maintain health and fitness so they can best serve God and proclaim His Truth. They should also strive to be humble, merciful, just, and loving towards those around them. Finally, they should work against the evil schemes of Satan, especially those perpetrated by apostate "churches" such as that of Catholicism, and ideas of secular Evolutionary society such as that of socialism.

Oh, oh. I think the YCLA is not well-disposed toward me. I'm definitely part of "secular Evolutionary society" and I support universal health care and public education, which I think makes me a socialist. I probably won't get any credit for having abandoned the Catholic church (although it's amusing to see the oldest form of Christianity described as "apostate").

You know, that's probably enough time spent browsing around on Josiah's YCLA blog. If it gets more interesting, I'm sure PiD will tip me off.

It wasn't my blog there were Nazi pictures on.

Thanks!

-R. Josiah Magnuson

Video Games and Evolution

My family received the March issue of the magazine Popular Science the other day. A prominent article was regarding a new video game based on Evolution and designed to promote creativity, of all things!

The new game, called Spore, was developed by Will Wright, an atheist who also designed such anti-God productions as The Sims. Players will be able to pilot the cosmological, biological, and political development of their own universe. They will even be able to share their universe and its life-forms with other players, through use of the Internet.

While Wright admits that the game is more like Intelligent Design than Evolution, he insists that it is a "pretty accurate, though caricatured, representation of reality in the way life evolved from single cell to multicell to intelligence."

The picture on the first page of the article featured a large fanciful planet with green oceans and pink-and-purple-swirled mountains. Vegetation on the planet included what appeared to be cauliflower-like trees and bumpy pea-like objects. On the second page, a herd of red-and-yellow-striped dinosaur styled creatures with electric waves emanating from their tails grazed at the edge of a primeval-looking forest.

My evaluation of the launch of the game of Spore is that it is designed to produce confusion in the minds of the public as to what Evolution really is. There is a growing movement promulgating the idea that Evolution is not so un-designed or directionless after all. Some even believe that the existence of life is intrinsic in the Laws of nature, being put there by an unknowable mathematic "Force" (cf. Star Wars), thus following this idea to its logical conclusion.

Another thing which becomes obvious is that this video game will further convolute any perception the public still holds of the existence of unchanging scientific Law. Still more of our once-great civilization will thus go down the drain of relativism.

Of course, the new Spore game is only a small part in the struggle. Our goal must be to reclaim the "waste places" as the Bible says and demonstrate that Laws are good and the Bible can be trusted. After all, the Bible is the Word of a loving and powerful Creator who can make real worlds and actual people.


-R. Josiah Magnuson