Sober words from Newt.
ajc.com | Opinion | Condition of health care system has been upgraded: "For example, it was increasingly nonsensical that Medicare would pay billions for kidney dialysis but not pay the pennies per day for the preventive-care drugs that let many people keep their kidneys healthy. Similarly, it made little sense for Medicare to pay billions to cover open-heart surgery but not cover the couple of dollars a day for statin drugs so that people could avoid surgery in the first place. "

Doesn't the US constitution require that every state have a republican form of government. This looks like one for the U.S. Supreme Court or the Marines.

Democratic arrogance keeps Bush off ballot: "Because the Republicans will hold their national convention in early September and the Illinois Election Code requires certification of ballots in August, a minor change needs to be made in state law. Madigan, who is also the state chairman, and Jones are holding up certification -- for a price."

The French are a sorry bunch.

OpinionJournal - Extra: "'Follow the money' is an old adage, and it means that economic interest will eventually explain much human behavior. That France opposed the removal of Saddam Hussein because he owed millions to French banks is proof of this. Less well known, but much more troubling, are key French financial links with other U.S. enemies. They raise the belief that the Franco-American conflict over Iraq was just one slice of the action. For France was not just Baathist Iraq's largest contributor of funds; French banks have financed other odious regimes. They are the No. 1 lenders to Iran and Cuba and past and present U.S. foes such as Somalia, Sudan and Vietnam."

Everything is a disease nowadays, from sodomy to fat. Makes it easy thataway. Don't have to take responsibility. There is no biblical hell for the sick, just the hell of Big Brother telling everyone what to do, what to eat, what to drink, how much to exercise, and whether to smoke cigars.

Interesting, isn't it. We throw of the Ten Commandments, and exchange them for a million lifestyle commandments from government. The Ten Commandments are restrictive, but we submit to laws about seat belts, motorcycle helmets, drug and food restrictions, etc. Seems that God holds us personally responsible, but that is too restrictive, so we let government be responsible for us, and laws and taxes multiply like maggots in last week's turkey carcass. The Ten Commandments forbid us to murder our neighbor, but government insists that we keep him alive no matter what, and then taxes us to pay the government inspectors and regulators to see that he never has to suffer for the consequences of his own stupid lifestyle choices.

TCS: Tech Central Station - Addiction Inflation: "An interesting phenomenon creeping into western culture is the medicalisation of what are traditionally thought of as social habits and behaviors. In particular growing numbers of people are claiming they are addicted to all forms of lifestyle choices, such as sex, drugs, alcohol and of course, food. "

Yes, Mr. Bartlett, you are right. Where are the good old days of gridlock and government shutdowns? When there is gridlock the government can't conceive and produce so much fiscal mischief in order to gain votes and win elections. Bring back gridlock!!

Bruce Bartlett: Bring back gridlock: "On Jan. 23, 1996, Bill Clinton told the nation, 'The era of big government is over.' If so, it sure didn't last very long. Today, the era of big government is back with a vengeance, ushered in by a massive new prescription drug entitlement, a pork-laden energy bill of grotesque proportions and a trade war with China. "

From my favorite Jewish writer:

Dennis Prager: Dear American soldier in Iraq: "So, first, let me set the record straight. Not since World War II have the stakes been this great. This is a war for the future of civilization every bit as much as the war against German Nazism and Japanese Fascism was. If we had lost that war, the world would have devolved into barbarism."

When will the United States awaken out of its post-WWII dream of hope-so world peace through the UN, and realize that the UN is not the solution to the problem--the UN is a great deal OF the problem.

Freedom Alliance -- Honoring and Encouraging Military Service: "The U.S. Department of State, in a congressional mandated report titled �Voting Practices in the United Nations, 2002,� stated that 187 UN General Assembly members, out of 90 votes cast, voted against U.S. positions by a 69 percent to 31 percent margin on issues such as terrorism, arms control, human rights and the Middle East."

The trouble with putting so much money in one place is that it makes it that much easier for people to steal huge amounts of it.

Czech warns Europe of 'dream world' woes - The Washington Times: World: "EU auditors could vouch for only 10 percent of the $120 billion the bloc spent in 2002. It was the ninth successive year the auditors were unable to certify the budget as a whole. "

A revolutionary age or people has no sense of history. They scoff at the Fifth Commandment about honoring parents, think that God has repealed the Seventh Commandment about adultery, and think nothing of stealing huge sums of money from taxpayers to bribe voters. Is it nothing to them to overthrow institutions and customs, thinking they can build houses upon sand? They are a most evil generation and will not stop at persecution or murder to fulfill their foul desires. Those who sow to the wind will reap the whirlwind.

Do not be deceived. Everything is up for grabs in this revilutionary age, and any Christian who stands in the way will be swept away in the coming tsunami of relatavism and destruction.

But be of good cheer, child of God. Remember the promise of God: "Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain." [Heb. 12:27}

Grove City College: "“Certainly our decision today marks a significant change in the definition of marriage as it has been inherited from the common law, and understood by many societies for centuries.” (Goodridge, et al vs. the Department of Public Health, pg 11)

With these weighty words, a simple majority of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ripped marriage from its historical, cultural and common law foundation and reconstructed it as “an evolving paradigm.” In simple terms, marriage in Massachusetts is now whatever a majority of judges say it is, with no foundation other than their sense of the direction the cultural wind is blowing."