Check out our New Features!
Anyone just a little bit uncomfortable with the emergence of �evangelicals� as a cohesive GOP voting block can now get SherWright�s take on this in a convenient series of pages. Just click on the right-side link �political evangelicals.� Note that we have respect and admiration for people whose faith is a defining characteristic of their lives. We also have a big problem with people of faith wanting to get the cops involved with promoting their interpretations of scripture. This series is our humble attempt to spell out the multiple reasons we feel this way, and maybe get some laughs along the way.
11.13.04 @ 08:26 PM EDT [link]

The National Debt Ain�t a Mortgage
I continually to be amazed at the tolerance of the American public for the GOP�s multi-trillion dollar run up of the national debt. Sure there�s a sort of low-grade background buzz about it, such that the candidates both voiced vague aspirations about reducing the rate at which this debt is growing. None of these pronouncements were backed by credible plans, though. I�m particularly surprised at the lack of outrage by two groups: baby boomers and twenty-somethings. Admittedly the latter doesn�t think much about politics in the first place, but if there is any issue that should get them going, it�s this one. The reason is obvious � a huge percentage of the taxes they�ll pay over their working lifetimes will be burned up in interest on the national debt. Interest is already one of the largest components of the budget, and has the distinction of being the only item that cannot be reduced by legislative action. It�s also the most component most at risk for explosion, a risk that we can do nothing to mitigate. The size of our monster interest payments are directly related to the willingness of foreign countries to buy our T-bills. For example, Japan owns trillions of dollars worth. Should they decide that they have too many eggs in the Bush basket, they could precipitate a disastrous deterioration in the amount of taxes needed to keep the lights on, and we wouldn�t be able to borrow our way out of that problem. Why do people yawn when experts talk about the debt/deficit? I believe it�s because people are already used to be in debt up to their eyeballs. So what if the national debt is equal to three times the annual budget? That�s not much different from a home mortgage, and if a person can tolerate that much debt why can�t the government? The answer is simple: the national debt ain�t anything like a mortgage. For one thing, you can�t run a deficit with a mortgage � the payment is always high enough to pay off the mortgage in a certain period of time. The major difference, however, is that a mortgage involves accumulation of equity. Mortgages exist to allow you to live in a real asset while you pay for it. There is no real asset associated with the national debt. It represents government services that were enjoyed by a particular group of citizens along the eternal timeline of US history, a group that just wasn�t up for having to pay for these services. The only way for the payments to end is for some group of citizens on that timeline to bear a sacrifice equal to the joy experienced while the credit card was being run up. In a moral world this would be the same group of citizens that experienced the joy. This not being a moral world, the most likely outcome will be that the short-term joy we�ve experienced over the last 20 years will be balanced by a much larger bounty of pain. This pain will be borne continuously far, far down the timeline, as the US government�s primary activity becomes collecting the taxes needed to feed the interest tapeworm.

11.12.04 @ 10:06 PM EDT [link]

China Leading the Way for America!
Of all the countries in the world, China has a unique political structure. This structure is called �One country, two systems.� The communist leadership of China likely isn�t crazy about having to go along with this, but it allowed them to get Hong Kong back as a golden goose rather than a Peking duck. Hong Kong�s flamboyant capitalism is a huge source of revenue for this particular Red State. They�re doubtless hoping that if they get �two systems� to work with Hong Kong, they�ll be successful in getting Taiwan back into the fold. You�ve doubtless already figured out where I�m going with this. Here it is: maybe the US should adopt �one country two systems.� Wouldn�t that be de facto recognition of the current political arrangement? I�ve traveled widely through both the entire US and throughout the world at large, and I have to say that sometimes the Red States I�ve visited seem like foreign countries. Indeed, they even speak a foreign language: Dittohead. It was during just such an extended sojourn in a Red State (Georgia, in case you were wondering) that I came to realize Dittohead�s status as not a regional dialect, but an entirely new language with English as its root (just like Italian is a distinct language with Latin as its root). Separate systems would provide the same benefit for the US that China�s two systems provide for it: prevention of military hostilities. Can we doubt, for example, that if Blue State gun controls were imposed on, say, Idaho, there�d be some shootin�? And consider that no cooler head than my wife is carefully reading labels so she can boycott Red State products. If today it�s boycott, who�s to say that tomorrow it won�t be a blockade. Next thing you know it�ll be CWII. Speaking as a Blue Stater, I wouldn�t like to see that - too much chance of being shot down on the flight over to California. So why don�t we all agree to disagree. Red States can run little theocracies, as long as they keep their smudgy fingers off the Constitution. And the Blue States will�well, I guess we�re already pretty much ignoring the Red States, so there won�t be much difference. It�s just a fantasy, of course. One thing I�ve learned about Dittoheads is that they never ever stop. They won�t be happy until all traces of Blue are gone. Here�s my advice: if you can�t deal with the idea of Reagan, Bush, and DeLay on your money, start stuffing your Washingtons, Lincolns, and Hamiltons in the mattress!
11.11.04 @ 07:32 PM EDT [link]

Daily Scripture Exercise
Thursday, November 11. Today�s Theme: Earthly Power
Following are the three gospel references to Satan tempting Christ with the empty promise of civil power. Assignment: read these scriptures and complete an exercise on applying them to your daily life.

Matthew Chapter 4
8: Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them;
9: and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."
Mark, Chapter 1
13: And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan
Luke Chapter 4
5: And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,
6: and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.
7: If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours."

Exercise: Imagine that your church�s priests or ministers speak from the pulpit on the need to vote for candidates who will deliver the political power to criminalize certain acts held to be in opposition to scripture. Whose voice is calling them to covet this authority? Answer: _ _ _ _ _.
Scoring:
J E S U S. Your are a committed Christian who conscientiously applies scripture to your everyday life.
S A T A N or D E V I L. Repent immediately! Your soul is in deep peril!
11.10.04 @ 08:09 PM EDT [link]

The Missile Gaffe
Let�s talk about the 4,000 shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles that turned up missing in Iraq. Our beloved repeat blog readers know that the wisdom of allowing Saddam�s arsenal to be looted has been a recurring focus. We looked at the disappearance of hundreds of tons of HDX, one pound of which destroyed a 747 over Lockerbie Scotland in one of history�s most devastating terrorist attacks. (BTW, this attack was believed to be in retaliation for US downing of an Iranian civilian airliner by the missile frigate USS Vincennes.) HDX is scary enough, but stinger missiles represent an entirely different class of concern. As a West Point cadet I once witnessed the firing of such a weapon during a training exercise. They handed it to one of my lucky classmates, pulled out of the crowd and thus without any special training. Then we saw this tiny dot in the sky, a �firebee� heat target drone being towed behind a plane. It was a pretty amazing sight to see the missile zero in on the dot. The lesson was not lost on one of my classmates. Some years later, after the soviet invasion of Afghanistan, he quit his job and became a mujahadeen. No kidding. He came back to the reunion with a long beard and the narrow-eyed look of someone used to ducking in the rocks. He was convinced that the partisans could prevail if they could cut Soviet aerial re-supply. He founded a think tank to lobby the Reagan administration to deliver stinger missiles to the Afghanis. The CIA was aghast at the idea of jet killers floating around third-world black markets, but eventually relented. The end result was what Andy had predicted � the Soviets pulled out, a defeat that in no small part led to the disintegration of the USSR. So should we be concerned about 4,000 of these in the hands of insurgents who recently declared featly to Al Qaeda? Well, here�s one data point: shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles caused the single largest loss for US forces in post-invasion combat operations, when firing on two helicopters on Nov 2, 2003 killed 16 soldiers and wounded 21 in Fallujah.
11.09.04 @ 08:06 PM EDT [link]

What They Want
There is a lot of talk about �values� and �morality� driving the GOP victory. But what exactly do those words mean to the Dittoheads using them? As one of the country�s leading authorities on the Dittohead language (OK, actually the country�s only authority), I have something to bring to the party on this. Dittoheads employ a usage for the term �morality� quite different from traditional usages. Traditional English usages of the term relate to treating others with respect and compassion. For example, contributing to the delinquency of a minor falls into the category of a morals crime, while volunteering to mentor a minor shows moral character. For Dittoheads, morality means being so zealous about your particular scriptural interpretations that having to actually convince others of the truth of these interpretations is a constraint just too vexing to tolerate. Handing out pamphlets on the corner just doesn�t do it for them. Let�s look very carefully and precisely at what they mean by morality. In their world view of a moral America, men with guns will show up at the houses of doctors who persist in providing medical services that only a minority of Americans want to criminalize. It would not matter if these doctors had distinguished themselves in long-term careers in obstetrics. It would not matter if they continued to perform the procedure to protect the health of their patients or as a matter of principle. Neither would it matter to them if doctors just over the state line perform the same procedures perfectly legally. What they want is for the doctors to have to spread �em in their foyers and be led away in handcuffs. They want these doctors gang-raped in prisons. The most extreme elements (e.g., the newly elected senator from Oklahoma) want these doctors dragged to execution chambers so that their families can witness their lethal injection. Recall these images the next time you hear a Dittohead politician (for example, a president), use the terms �morals� or �values.�
11.08.04 @ 08:37 PM EDT [link]

Open Letter to the President
Congratulations, Mr. President, on your reelection. OK, maybe you and I might have just a little disagreement over whether 1% beyond a split down the middle constitutes a “sweeping mandate,” but hey! Elections are like plane rides – any landing you walk away from is good enough. You should take pride that you’ve accomplished all of the goals that got you into politics in the first place. You surpassed Jeb by ending up being the first to end up in Dad’s old office. You took care of unfinished family business by taking out Saddam after Poppy’s overcaution lost him the Hawk vote. You showed how words that appear on presidential lips have to be pursued full speed ahead, damn the deficits! You even did Poppy one better by mounting the fastest invasion in history (as measured by miles per hour)! It’s now time to demonstrate presidential leadership. (Remember all those times you talked about leadership during the campaign?) Leadership is about example, and Americans are looking to you to set the example for them. This is particularly important to your base, who can’t be looking up to Hollywood celebrities because they’re all lefties. If people can’t envy the celebrity lifestyle, you need to offer them an alternative. You can do this, Mr. President, by offering your leadership in the personal lifestyle most Americans know and love you for: taking vacation. When Americans are depressed over their measly two weeks a year, your six week recreational marathons are an invaluable lift to the national spirit. When you’re out there clearing brush, Americans daydream about how they’d rather be working in the garden. So kick back! Take some more long vacations! You know you want to. All this hard work has been….well, hard work! Not really your cup of tea. And you deserve a break! Leadership of the free world really takes it out of you, particularly when the world doesn’t seem to want to go where you’re leading. (You showed them, though!) So relax, enjoy the fruits of your success. Live off the fat of the land for awhile! It’s the least you can do for your devoted fans, not to mention the free world (who can itself maybe use a little bit of a vacation from your leadership!)
11.07.04 @ 05:57 PM EDT [link]