"Adam Smith [once] said, 'Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.' That lesson seems to have been forgotten in America ... where so many people seem to have been far more concerned about whether we have been nice enough to the mass-murdering terrorists in our custody than those critics have ever been about the innocent people beheaded or blown up by the terrorists themselves. ... Those who are pushing for legal action against CIA agents may talk about 'upholding the law' but they are doing no such thing. Neither the Constitution of the United States nor the Geneva Convention gives rights to terrorists who operate outside the law. ... So many 'rights' have been conjured up out of thin air that many people seem unaware that rights and obligations derive from explicit laws, not from politically correct pieties. If you don't meet the terms of the Geneva Convention, then the Geneva Convention doesn't protect you. If you are not an American citizen, then the rights guaranteed to American citizens do not apply to you. That should be especially obvious if you are part of an international network bent on killing Americans. But bending over backward to be nice to our enemies is one of the many self-indulgences of those who engage in moral preening. But getting other people killed so that you can feel puffed up about yourself is profoundly immoral. So is betraying the country you took an oath to protect." --economist Thomas Sowell
"Obama's advisors think the answer to every problem is more cowbell, if by 'cowbell' you mean 'Obama.' It's like Obama guru David Axelrod is the Christopher Walken character from the 'Saturday Night Live' skit about Blue Oyster Cult (if you don't know the reference, Google 'cowbell'). Every time someone comes up with an alternative to throwing Obama on TV, Axelrod says, 'No, no, no. Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription ... is more Obama!' ... But what is lacking is not cowbell, it's substance the American people can support. Obama will reportedly be 'more specific,' but he won't commit himself to any particular piece of legislation. This suggests that the White House still thinks it has a communication problem, and if only it dispels the cloud of 'lies' belched up by the opposition, there will be nothing but blue skies ahead. Funny how the people who run the most sophisticated communication operation in the history of the presidency keep concluding that their difficulties stem from their inability to get their message out and never from what their message actually is. And so, rather than change the substance of the message, they're grabbing an even bigger megaphone: an address to a joint session of Congress. ... Just seven months into Obama's presidency, the White House is turning up the speakers on the cowbell as loud as they will go. And, heck, if you love cowbell, it's going to be a real treat. But in all the ways that matter, it may just end up being more noise." --columnist Jonah Goldberg
I think this last one is so true. I am so tired of hearing the left, Howard Dean in particular, blame any opposition to Obama policies on right-wing organized groups, people responding to myths/lies about policies and basically people just not knowing what is really good for themselves. Maybe people disagree with Obama's agenda for one very simple reason - it isn't good for them or this country. What is so hard to understand about that? Simply amplifying a wrong message doesn't get us anywhere. Go back to the drawing board.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Christianity vs. Islam
http://equipblog.wpengine.com/is-allah-the-same-as-god-the-father/
When you run into people who believe that all religions are essentially the same and lead to the same place, here is something to tell them.
In the Hadith, which is a record of Mohammed's life and sayings, second in authority to the Koran, Mohammed was once asked, "What is the best deed?" He replied, "To believe in Allah and his apostle" (Mohammed was supposedly his apostle).
The questioner then asked, "What is the next (in goodness)?" He replied, "To participate in jihad (religious fighting) in Allah's cause" (Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 2, Number 25).
Christ on the other hand, when asked for the greatest commandment, replied, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39).
Does that sound like the same theology? Or the same God? The second commandments could not be more diametrically opposed. I'll serve a God that teaches us to love our enemies...who died for us while we were STILL His enemies...rather than one that brings the sword upon the infidels.
When you run into people who believe that all religions are essentially the same and lead to the same place, here is something to tell them.
In the Hadith, which is a record of Mohammed's life and sayings, second in authority to the Koran, Mohammed was once asked, "What is the best deed?" He replied, "To believe in Allah and his apostle" (Mohammed was supposedly his apostle).
The questioner then asked, "What is the next (in goodness)?" He replied, "To participate in jihad (religious fighting) in Allah's cause" (Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 2, Number 25).
Christ on the other hand, when asked for the greatest commandment, replied, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39).
Does that sound like the same theology? Or the same God? The second commandments could not be more diametrically opposed. I'll serve a God that teaches us to love our enemies...who died for us while we were STILL His enemies...rather than one that brings the sword upon the infidels.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Vacation
OK, my sister's active blogging has motivated me so I will start here...
Got a much needed few days away from the office and my computer screen. The most important part of the time away was simply that...time away. Think about anything but work. Look at anything but blinking red and green lights. For the most part I was able to do that. I had to peek a little just to make sure my account hadn't gone to zero and to take a little pressure off the deluge of emails that were piling up in the work account.
I must have done alright as my eye has stopped twitching - something that is recurring in nature and likely directly correlated to the amount of time I daily spend in front of the computer. It was good to reconnect with family and some friends. I am very blessed to have parents that are willing to make time and offer their home to me whenever I come calling. The home is peaceful and harmonious and that makes for a very enjoyable spot from which to relax. Oh...and the new TV ain't bad either.
This weekend will be about getting caught up on some sleep and getting my schedule back in gear. I find that my daily routine is a good one - physically, professionally and spiritually. It gets a bit out of whack when I am on vacation - although some of that is intentional - and it usually takes me a week or so to get back in the groove once I am home but I think the turnaround time will be faster this go around. I hope to have a couple more blogs of more substance this weekend so stay tuned.
Got a much needed few days away from the office and my computer screen. The most important part of the time away was simply that...time away. Think about anything but work. Look at anything but blinking red and green lights. For the most part I was able to do that. I had to peek a little just to make sure my account hadn't gone to zero and to take a little pressure off the deluge of emails that were piling up in the work account.
I must have done alright as my eye has stopped twitching - something that is recurring in nature and likely directly correlated to the amount of time I daily spend in front of the computer. It was good to reconnect with family and some friends. I am very blessed to have parents that are willing to make time and offer their home to me whenever I come calling. The home is peaceful and harmonious and that makes for a very enjoyable spot from which to relax. Oh...and the new TV ain't bad either.
This weekend will be about getting caught up on some sleep and getting my schedule back in gear. I find that my daily routine is a good one - physically, professionally and spiritually. It gets a bit out of whack when I am on vacation - although some of that is intentional - and it usually takes me a week or so to get back in the groove once I am home but I think the turnaround time will be faster this go around. I hope to have a couple more blogs of more substance this weekend so stay tuned.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Something to Think About
From Tim Keller's "The Prodigal God"...
Jesus' teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing, religious people of his day. However, in the main, our churches today do not have this effect. The kind of outsiders Jesus attracted are not attracted to contemporary churches, even our most avant-garde ones. We tend to draw conservative, buttoned-down, moralistic people. The licentious and liberated or the broken and marginal avoid church. That can only mean one thing. If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did. If our churches aren't appealing to younger brothers (as in the younger brother from the parable of the Prodigal Son), they must be more full of elder brothers (again, from the same parable) than we'd like to think.
Jesus' teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing, religious people of his day. However, in the main, our churches today do not have this effect. The kind of outsiders Jesus attracted are not attracted to contemporary churches, even our most avant-garde ones. We tend to draw conservative, buttoned-down, moralistic people. The licentious and liberated or the broken and marginal avoid church. That can only mean one thing. If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did. If our churches aren't appealing to younger brothers (as in the younger brother from the parable of the Prodigal Son), they must be more full of elder brothers (again, from the same parable) than we'd like to think.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Trading 101
Jesse Livermore's 1940 book, "Reminiscences of A Stock Operator", is considered the Bible of the trading world (guess I should read it then, huh?). I saw the following written on Friday and felt it was worth posting for my own reminder, as well as anyone else who may gain some wisdom from it. From Jesse's book:
"The speculator's chief enemies are always boring from within. It is inseperable from human nature to hope and to fear. In speculation when the market goes against you you hope that every day will be the last day - and you lose more than you should had you not listened to hope - to the same ally that is potent a success-bringer to empire builders and pioneers, big and little. And when the market goes your way you become fearful that the next day will take away your profit, and you get out too soon...etc."
The translation: Unlike our spiritual lives, hope is our worst enemy in trading when we are holding a losing position and fear is our greatest enemy when holding a winning trade. As Jesse Livermore writes elsewhere, we are to fear that our losses get worse and hope that our profits grow larger, but as humans we tend to cut our profits short, fearing they will grow smaller, and we allow our losing trades to remain intact, hoping that they will turn for the better. Rarely, however, do they.
To this end, the worst trading advice anyone can be given is "You never go broke taking a profit," for that literally forces one to take profits early...to cut them short...to abandon trades that are working well, almost certainly at that point in time when they are going to begin working even better. Poor speculators, poor investors, the poorest of traders take small profits...dozens of them...hundreds of them, and yet bury themselves with one or two enormous losses, all the while telling themselves, "You never go broke taking a profit." Yes, you do; Yes, you really, really do.
"The speculator's chief enemies are always boring from within. It is inseperable from human nature to hope and to fear. In speculation when the market goes against you you hope that every day will be the last day - and you lose more than you should had you not listened to hope - to the same ally that is potent a success-bringer to empire builders and pioneers, big and little. And when the market goes your way you become fearful that the next day will take away your profit, and you get out too soon...etc."
The translation: Unlike our spiritual lives, hope is our worst enemy in trading when we are holding a losing position and fear is our greatest enemy when holding a winning trade. As Jesse Livermore writes elsewhere, we are to fear that our losses get worse and hope that our profits grow larger, but as humans we tend to cut our profits short, fearing they will grow smaller, and we allow our losing trades to remain intact, hoping that they will turn for the better. Rarely, however, do they.
To this end, the worst trading advice anyone can be given is "You never go broke taking a profit," for that literally forces one to take profits early...to cut them short...to abandon trades that are working well, almost certainly at that point in time when they are going to begin working even better. Poor speculators, poor investors, the poorest of traders take small profits...dozens of them...hundreds of them, and yet bury themselves with one or two enormous losses, all the while telling themselves, "You never go broke taking a profit." Yes, you do; Yes, you really, really do.
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