Delivering the Goods

The United States rose up from a handful of rebellious colonies to become the richest and most powerful nation in the world. Why? Because we led the world in production. For 200 years, America delivered the goods.

But, in the 1970’s, all that suddenly changed. For the first time in history, the U.S. started having trade deficits. That means our net consumption exceeded our net production. And, every single year since 1975, our nation has consistently consumed more than it produced. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that’s not sustainable.

The depressing truth is America is no longer a world leader in production. We are trailing the pack. We are now a debtor nation, and our biggest creditor is China. — What the hell happened? And how will we ever recover? And, the more disturbing question is, what will happen to America if we don’t?

If we ever want to restore America to its proper place in the world, the first thing we need to understand is why we no longer have a productive economy. It’s pretty simple, really. — Because we no longer produce. Why not? – If we take a good hard look at the nature of production, maybe we can figure that out. The three key elements of production are capital, labor, and raw materials.

First, you need capital for research and development. To develop a new product that meets a real need in the marketplace takes a lot of research. It may take many years to develop. Research and development is extremely expensive, and there’s no guarantee of success. There has to be an enormous potential return on investment to justify that kind of risk.

That kind of return on investment is what our current administration refers to as “excessive profits.” And they have this notion that “excessive profits” should be punitively taxed. When government puts a lid on the potential for return on investment, what happens? The investors take their capital and invest it someplace else, — someplace that welcomes production, and wants to build up their economy and provide employment for their population. (Unlike the United States, it would seem.)

The second thing you need for production is raw materials. No matter what you want to produce, you need some combination of raw materials to produce it, whether wood, paper, metal, glass, fiber, or petroleum products. All raw materials come from the earth; they don’t come out of the air, or some genius’ imagination, or the printing presses at the Federal Reserve. They all come out of the ground, either through timber, mining, or agriculture.

Here, in Southern Oregon, we live in one of the richest areas in the country, in terms of natural resources. We’re rich in timber. We’re rich in minerals. But, if this part of the country is so rich, why is it so poor? Why is unemployment so high? Because we’re not allowed to use the natural resources with which we’re abundantly blessed. Overregulation, and the endless environmental litigation it has spawned, has all but curtailed the timber and mining industries, — the very industries that provide raw materials for every sort of production on which our economy relies. And the overregulation doesn’t stop there. It’s hobbling the manufacturing industries, too.

The third thing required for production is labor. We’ve actually got a surplus of that. Look at our unemployment numbers, nationwide. Private sector jobs are steadily declining because our industries are stymied by excessive regulation and punitive taxation. So how does our government address that issue? It tries to replace the jobs lost due to declining production by creating new jobs in the public sector.

The trouble is those jobs do nothing to restore our national productivity. Public sector jobs and service jobs don’t create any new wealth. They just swirl money around in the economy. And, as that money swirls around, more and more of it leaks out to other countries, as we buy foreign-made products because we can’t or don’t produce enough at home.

As the real wealth leaks out of our economy, the Fed prints up more and more new money, which only dilutes the value of the money we already have in circulation, leading to higher and higher inflation. As long as we consume more than we produce, there is no way to add real value back into our economy, and our currency will continue to lose whatever value it has. We must restore production to have a sustainable economy.

This country was founded on the sacred principles of liberty and freedom. Not just individual freedom, but economic freedom. America became a world leader because America delivered the goods. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what it’s always been about. We have to stay solvent to preserve our liberty. If our economy fails, we’ll lose our freedom. Stifling production smothers the economy. And that’s what our government is doing.

Contact your Congressmen and Senators and tell them we want our economy back. Government can’t solve this problem. Government is the problem.

FAITH ISN'T FAKE...

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"
- (Hebrews 11:1)

It’s an amazing promise, isn’t it? That no matter where you are in your stillness or walk with the world God can meet you there. A lot of Christians don’t understand that it is by grace that you are saved. Grace is the absolute substance that makes God up. The next time someone asks you who God is tell them, “God is Grace” or you could simply reply, “God is Love”. God’s love and mercy abounds if we are only willing to look for it. Remember that nothing in this whole entire world can separate you from His love. As well, never forget that true faith is when you know what you believe, why you believe it, and you are committed in acting in accordance with it; and that anything less than that is not true faith. That is the kind of faith that you must have in God and the Bible.

Faith leads us beyond ourselves. It leads us directly to God. It is faith that directs our prayers and faith that directs God’s mercy on us. I am one of those who would rather sink with faith than swim without it. Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you. Understand that all things can be done through Christ who strengthens you.


“The beautiful and majestic thing about this odd adventure called faith is that we can always and at any minute count on Him never to lead us astray.” - Charlie Swindoll

Going Astray...

It's an amazing promise isn't it? A wise man once said that "Good things take time; but great things happen all at once." I suppose that fear drives this place. Isn't it sad that something so made up could move mountains in our hearts. It can cause us to lose beautiful relationships, great dreams that were only footsteps away, and treasured intimacy with ourselves.

"Now faith is the substance of things hopes for, the evidence of things not seen"
-Hebrews 11:1

One thing that man has forgotten to do is "JUST LIVE". Just live... This never, though, to be confused with success because even the most successful people are not happy. Man should never forget that success created by ones own self through manipulation is success not reviving nor happy. True faith is when you know what you believe, why you believe it, and you are committed in acting in accordance with it. That is the kind of faith that one must have in God and the Bible. Anything less than that is not true faith.

The question, though, is... Is you're faith strong enough to move mountains? Can you're faith destroy than rebuild the highest temple in Jerusalem than rebuild it in 7 days. Can you're faith make peace with you're empty and unhappy past? Does you're faith make you happy? Does lift you when you are sad? Can you're faith withstand whirlwinds and hurricanes? Can you're faith fight the forces of evil?






















If not, than you're human... Welcome to the real world.

Just Another Day...

Well today's just been a real hoot!

I'm so tired of doing nothing... I'm finally in Washington but I'm not doing what I want. First off, I wanna meet people! New people! My plan is to take this experience and come back to Ohio so that I can use it to my advantage. I wanna run for Chairman of the Ohio College Republicans Federation. Sounds like quite the step there doesn't it? I know it's kind of long winded.

I don't know what else to write so I'll talk to you later...!

A Quick Argument Against Calvinism...

My main beef against calvinism is the belief that God predestined certain people to be "elect"; in normal words, calvinists believe that God dictated who will be saved before that person was even born.

Now, that in itself is not so radical when you stop to consider how God sees time. But what is outragous is how calvinists believe that man has no free will in the matter.

I.e., man does not choose to follow God, God predestines man to follow God and be saved. So they believe that it's not: "Because you have faith in God and follow his ways, God will have mercy on you and save you." Instead, they believe it's: "Because God chose you, you will serve God and be saved."

You know Romans 9:15-18...

The calvinists suggest that this is the silver bullet proof that God predestines the elect. However, this is an incorrect interpretation. These verses are simply stating that nothing man can do by himself can get him into heaven. Man needs God's grace and mercy, which only God can grant. God grants mercy to those he grants mercy to, and we can presume from Jesus' teachings that God will grant mercy to those whose hearts are truly seeking God and who follow Jesus' path in heart, mind, and action.

If God has already elected those who are going to heaven, then why evangelize, seek to be saved, or even follow God's path?

Your traditional Calvinist would proclaim, "Because God told us so!" But if God has already elected those who will be going to heaven, no amount of influence from Christians will change who is elected or not. Evangelism may be the means of how God saves the elect, but our conscience decision to not evangelize will not affect the elect.

Yes, I believe God predestines many events. Many events throughout the Bible have been predestined. Jesus' birth was predestined. Jesus' death was predestined. Jesus' resurrection was predestined. Many things in our own lives could very well be predestined. But God certainly does not predestine people to go to heaven or go to hell. It is man's choice to either accept God's path or reject it.