The New Conservative Political Activism

Political activism is something with which most conservatives are unfamiliar. In this year, when the conservative arm of the GOP has been less than enthusiastic about their Presidential candidate, it has been even more difficult to be active. That will have to change in order to combat the leftist extremism that has become so abundantly pervasive throughout the media -- including the "blogosphere." It is time for conservatives to utilize the tools before us to meet the onslaught head-on. Blogging is one piece of the puzzle. Dr. Donald Douglas has posted an interesting piece on his American Power blog related to that very issue. You can view it here. How will you respond?

Fiscal Issues Week Focus of Senator Cornyn

With the current economic turmoil faced by our nation being prominent in the news, U.S. Senator John Cornyn has focused his website on fiscal issues for our nation. I am privileged to have a guest post on the Senator's site which can be viewed here. I appreciate the Senator's efforts to bring these vital issues to the public's attention during this election season. He has been a strong advocate for fiscal conservatism and I believe will continue to bring that message to the Senate as we send him back for a second term. Thank you Senator for your efforts!

Altruism and Belief

I came across an article on FoxNews that references a new study concerning the motivations for altruistic behavior. The title of the piece, "Guilt, Not Religion, Makes People Do Good," indicates the secular orientation of both the researchers and the writer of the article. In my opinion, neither of them has "experienced" the altruistic feelings that come with a maturing faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior that is the ultimate hallmark of His followers.

The article points to guilt, or fear of a "watching" authority, as the real motivators for altruism. I can see that such motivations might arise out of many religions or out of secular perceptions of religion. Catholicism comes to mind -- especially with the emphasis on penitence and repentance. It stresses doing good as a path of atonement for sinful behavior. It is not the only "christian" religious organization that promotes such behavior -- either overtly, or through the subtleties of its teaching. In fact, many evangelical churches are guilty as well because of inadvertent messages in their teachings.

I would contend however, that true followers of Jesus, those who live by the power of the indwelling of His Spirit, experience a life-changing process that creates in them a changed nature that includes a true desire to serve others -- not out of guilt, not out of a desire to emulate Jesus -- but, a true desire to do good for others. I know, because I have experienced it.

There is only one way to change this world for the better. That way is through the life-changing belief in Jesus as Savior and the desire to have Him enter into your life and change you so that you might live according to His will. It is the rejection of a self-serving lifestyle for the gain of new life that is everlasting.

John 3:16 -- "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life."

Fred Thompson's Thoughts on the Election

Fred Thompson shares some thoughts on the election in the link below:

http://www.fredpac.com/index.aspx

Contrasting the Presidential Candidates

I find it difficult to write about things political lately. The Presidential election is dominating the landscape in spite of the "financial crisis" that the world is facing. The charges flying back-and-forth between the competing candidates are full of distortions if not outright lies in some cases. It is difficult if not impossible for the average voter to truly understand the positions of each of the candidates.

I have solved that problem for you. I will tell you what I see as the differences.

McCain is pro-American. Obama is "savior" of the world. (By-the-way -- I think God already addressed this issue a little over 2000 years ago.)

McCain primarily believes that we ought to work for a living and be able to enjoy what we earn (although the bailout seems to fly in the face of that). Obama believes that we should take from the wealthy and redistribute it to those who don't work or have no ambition beyond a paycheck followed by beer and t.v.

McCain believes that American sovereignty is inviolate and we should defend our borders vigorously. Obama believes we must be careful of others feelings and let them run over us if they feel like it. After all, we're just a big bully and it's better to cave in to the tantrums of the brats. (If you give a child everything that he wants he will be useless as an adult.)

McCain has a lot of experience. Obama isn't even doing his job in the Senate where he was elected to serve.

McCain believes we have the right to defend our property. Obama wants to take away personal protection and make it easier for criminals to redistribute the wealth (you can see this as a reference to firearms or to taxes -- whichever fits.)

McCain believes marriage should be between one man and one woman. Obama seems to prefer same gender marriages.

McCain believes that babies deserve a chance at life. Obama would prefer that no babies be born except to his liberal elite cohorts. He wants abortion on every corner.

McCain is not the best at delivering his message. He gets angry occasionally and is not brilliantly articulate. So what. It's values that count. Substance -- not fluff. Obama on the other hand is a wonderfully articulate speaker. It's too bad that it's all smoke and mirrors. He seems to be a most artful liar.

McCain fought to defend our country. Obama has aligned himself with anarchists that would tear our country apart.

I cannot understand how anyone could vote for Obama unless they hate this country.

Jerri Thompson; Future in Politics?

Here's a thought for you -- Jerri Thompson (wife of Senator Fred Thompson) for President in 2016. She's a sharp lady. I just saw her on Hannity and uh, whatever that other guy's name is....

Yard Signs and Newspaper Endorsements

I've been doing a lot of traveling lately. Some has been in Texas and some elsewhere. Last week I was in Florida and Georgia. I saw a lot of McCain-Palin yard signs and very few of the other. It might be because I was mostly in rural areas. While in Georgia I heard very strong support for Senator McCain and saw only one T-shirt that was pro-that-other-guy.

Tonight I'm in Victoria, Texas. As I drove from Amarillo to Victoria I saw almost exclusively McCain-Palin yard signs until I arrived in the Austin area. The same with U.S. Senator John Cornyn. Austin seemed to have a good mix with possibly a slight edge to the more liberal candidate in both the Presidential and the U.S. Senate race.

After I left Austin this morning and headed south to Victoria I saw a few signs promoting the liberal Democrats and a few supporting McCain and Cornyn. It was much more mixed than the western parts of the state.

So, what does that portend for the races? I don't really know except that based on my trip and a rough count of political signs I would call the races (in Texas) 52% McCain and 46% to the Democrat with the remainder going to Ron Paul. In the Senate race I would give 62% to John Cornyn and 35% to the guy that sounds like a Central American dictator and a couple of percent to the fringe parties.

If you look at newspaper endorsements it looks like a sweep by U.S. Senator John Cornyn. I believe that he has 14 endorsements to date while his opponent has ZERO. I don't know about endorsements for McCain/Palin but I suspect that it is in his favor across the state.

The media keep talking about how bad the economy is but I don't see it. The traffic is heavy, trucks are hauling equipment, fields are being harvested or plowed, houses are being built, highways are under construction and restaurants are full. Maybe Texas is unique to the country but I don't think so. I saw the same when I was in southern Georgia and northern Florida last week.

Everywhere I look I see abundance. Our country is amazingly blessed. I think that we need pro-business, pro-growth, pro-family, pro-morality, pro-tax relief, pro-spending control government. I know Senator Cornyn fits that profile and I believe that Senator McCain does as well. If we want to regain control of our country we need to get the Nancy Pelosi's, Harry Reid's and B.O.'s out of Washington.

Random Thoughts From Jacksonville Florida

It has been awhile since I have posted anything. My travel schedule has been crazy and will continue to be that way until almost Christmas.

I am writing this from Jacksonville, Florida, while waiting until time to board my flight west.

It has been a good week working in the Southeast. The people are friendly and the weather was great. Attitudes are good.

Every newspaper that I pick up has gloom-and-doom headlines about the economy and yet as I look around, I don't see it. Business is happening and people are spending money. There is certainly an underlying current of anxiety because people don't know what may really be happening in the economy. That anxiety is fed by the newspaper headlines. Yet, there lifestyles really haven't changed.

In agriculture, things really look pretty good. There is certainly some market turmoil -- but that's the way it always is. The markets go up, the markets go down. You do the best that you can.

The only negative that I've heard is a rumor that one very large outfit that is an industry leader is financed by one of the BIG 5 banks. The word is that their credit line has been squeezed.

So, why is our government bailing the big banks out? I know that it's because it would devastate our economy if they fail because it would create a cascading effect that would start with the big boys and work its way down until everyone was affected.

My thought though, is that they need to seriously consider breaking the big banks up into multiple smaller institutions. Kind of a Ma Bell breakup. Let's spread our risk instead of allowing it to concentrate into a few hands.

What bothers me is that the very banks that the Fed is propping up are the ones buying other financial institutions. If I had a bent toward conspiracy theories, I think we could certainly build a case that this whole financial meltdown smacks of a conspiracy to gain financial control of the world. But, being the rational individual that I am, maybe it's just a function of human stupidity instead.

Maybe I should run for President. Is there anybody out there that would vote for me?

Random Thoughts on Markets and Elections

It has been difficult to feel like posting anything the last few days. All we hear from the national media is how the economy is falling apart and the Presidential candidates are calling each other names.

It is virtually impossible to pick out the tidbits of truth in the various political advertisements (which includes "debates") because they are hidden in a fog of nothingness. We hear vague statements with little substance.

It is sad that the political process has devolved to mudslinging, but it's been that way since George Washington left the job to his successor. We don't have true debates, just positioning and one-liners designed to get media coverage. Let's talk about the merits of the plans that each candidate offers. Give us some substance instead of smoke for a change. We're big kids now, we can handle it.

Senator McCain is somewhat left of where I'd like him to be on many issues. If it wasn't for Governor Palin's presence on the ticket, he would really be struggling with the conservative voters. The trouble is, there really isn't an alternative. Obama is so far left-of-left (in spite of what he says) that he makes McCain look conservative.

As to the economy, I'm optimistic. Where there is turmoil, there is opportunity. I feel fortunate to live in Texas. We have a little different view of the world here than the folks on either coast. In fact, I expect any day for California and Massachusetts to be asking the State of Texas for a loan. The U.S. government is bound to be running pretty low -- they've given so much away lately. But, hey, what's a few hundred billion here or there anyway? Oh, wait! That's our money! I wish they'd stop doing that!!

Folks panicked this afternoon on the stock market. Maybe after they sleep on it they'll decide it's time to buy back. I'll bet the market opens up in the morning.

Locally our banks are strong and our economy is chugging along steadily. We've been in a bit of a boom -- and still are -- it does appear to be slowing a little bit but not much. We're building windmills and ethanol plants, digging new oil and gas wells, and the traffic on the highways is getting worse all the time. The farmers are harvesting their crops and the cattlemen are turning cattle out for fall grazing. It seems pretty normal around here -- except the old guys in the coffee shop have a little something extra to talk about.

I hate that I missed it, but Senator Cornyn was debating his opponent for his Senate seat tonight in Houston. I'm sure he was attacked over the economic mess but I think if the voters will look around and take stock of what's going on in this state they will recognize that the Senator has done a pretty good job representing their interests. The Senator's opponent -- I keep forgetting his name, but I know it's the same as some Central American Dictator from a few years back -- is clueless. He keeps preaching the same old socialistic theme as the Clintons and Obama/Biden. I guess it has a certain appeal to the deadbeats, but people around here are mostly hard-working, clean-living folks with strong family values. That's the kind of values Senator Cornyn represents. If the people are thinking come election day, instead of listening to the liberal media, the Senator will be going back to Washington to represent us again. Hopefully he will be in a position to start cleaning up the mess they have up there. He can't do it alone though. We need a few more like him. It's too bad some of the other states won't wake up and follow Texas' example on how they are represented in Washington. That's the kind of change we need. I wonder if Senator Cornyn would consider running for President in the future?

FreedomWorks Voter Guide

FreedomWorks has issued a new voter guide. You can view it HERE.

Making Tough Decision

I almost titled this post "The Bitter Pill" but thought better.

The Senate has voted in favor of a $700 Billion bailout of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. Wow. $700 Billion is a lot of money no matter how you view it. What do the taxpayers get in exchange? We get to be in the mortgage investment business corporately (as in we're all in this thing together). We will own $700 Billion worth of mortgages which are secured by about $560 Billion worth of real estate (assuming a 125% of value mortgage).

Once we own those mortgages what will we do with them? The first hope is that we could re-sell them on the open market. That could be a problem. The one's the government will own are the one's no one else wanted in the first place. Will we foreclose on the properties for those mortgages that are non-performing? Hmm -- I have a hard time seeing that happening although it does in small doses already. FHA has been foreclosing on real estate for a long time.

Let's say that we eventually will recover about half of the $700 Billion by either selling the mortgages or the foreclosed properties. That means about $350 Billion will be non-recoverable debt -- that will be made up from taxes. That's what makes this such a bitter pill to swallow.

But, let's look at the other side of this. What happens without a bailout?

First, we have a bankrupt Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Their assets are liquidated by the court and the net result to the economy will still be a loss of about $350 Billion. But we also have all of the $5.3 Trillion in mortgages that were guaranteed by Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac whose guarantees are now worthless. Any of the mortgage based securities sold to various financial institutions and individuals that are non-performing are now worth considerably less than their previously guaranteed value.

In the case of securities held by individuals, it is a matter of writing down their value, taking the loss and moving on. In the case of those held by financial institutions there is suddenly a huge problem. When the securities are written down, the financial institutions must then "classify" those assets as non-performing. Those classified assets offset the capital of the financial institution and cause many to drop below the minimum threshold required by the FDIC or other regulatory bodies. It also drops the available funds for lending to borrowers even though they may be well-qualified borrowers. In other words, the credit market dries up and many banks fail.

What happens when the credit market dries up? Business comes to a halt. Grocery stores can no longer stock their shelves. Auto dealers can no longer extend credit because somewhere behind that dealership is a bank or other financial institution underwriting the loan. In fact, many businesses will fail if credit becomes tight. When businesses fail, people lose their jobs. When people lose their jobs in an economy which is contracting due to unavailability of credit, there is little hope of finding a new job. We enter into a Depression.

This financial disaster is NOT a Wall Street problem alone. It is a Main Street problem. It affects the stock market because corporations must have credit to operate. The real problem though is the impact on the credit markets. Without credit, our economy comes to a halt. The taxpayers are going to be hit whether a "fix" is passed or not. The hit will be much harder and much more severe without a fix. No fix means Depression and huge loss of equity in retirement plans and many other assets. A fix means buying time to come up with a longer-term solution.

I applaud those Senators, like John Cornyn, who voted in favor of the fix. They knew that it was not the popular thing on Main Street. But, they also know that it is sometimes necessary to make tough decisions. I mention Senator Cornyn because he is up for reelection this year. His opponent can make political hay of this vote and if he's smart, will do his best to make the Senator appear to favor Wall Street over his constituents. In fact, it's the other way around. By making the tough call, Senator Cornyn is siding with the people of Texas. I pray that he will have opportunity to present legislation that will begin the process of fixing the underlying problems that created the financial meltdown in the first place. We need to send him back to Washington for another term.

Get Out the Military Vote

U.S. Senator John Cornyn has developed a new website to help our military to be able to vote in the upcoming Presidential election. It is a portal to important information and critical dates to ensure that their vote will count. Please get the word out to any military personnel that may have questions about their voting rights. It can be accessed at www.texasmilitaryvote.com.