Taxes a "Christian Duty"?

Another possible title for this: "Jesus told me to raise your taxes!" As the governor of Alabama puts it:

''According to our Christian ethics, we're supposed to love God, love each other and help take care of the poor,'' he said. ''It is immoral to charge somebody making $5,000 an income tax.''

However:

Two of the governor's Cabinet members resigned after Riley made the proposal. One of them, Labor Commissioner Charles Bishop, now leads opposition to the tax plan, saying Alabama voters thought they were getting a tax-cutting conservative who would eliminate waste, but instead got the opposite.

Bishop said supporters of Riley's plan also have been deceptive in saying it would help working-class Alabamians, when it actually includes a range of smaller tax increases, on such things as cigarettes and services, that would hit the poor harder than the wealthy.

''Working people, once they catch you lying, are never going to support you again,'' he said.

(Via Neal Boortz.)

Hiatus almost over...

Just wanted to drop in and say that I'm almost back. Thanks to everyone for their kind comments in the previous post. I'm going to keep the blog name unless either I get a nasty letter from a lawyer or I think of a new name that's so great that I actually look forward to changing all my skins.

We interrupt this hiatus with the following...

It seems the blogger formerly known as "Bible Geek" has changed his moniker to "Theologian Guy" because another "Bible Geek" has a trademark on that particular phrase and threatened to sue. What a load of BS! I seriously doubt that anyone was confusing these guys with each other. However, TG decided to be classy about this and I probably would have done the same. It still makes me mad, though.

I often wonder if I'll ever have the same problem as TG. LilacRose originates from a screen name I used on a couple of political forums. As it turns out, "LilacRose" (and its slight variations) is a little more common than I initially thought. (Not that I thought it was totally original in the first place.) And there is at least one other web entity that uses the name, but it's not a blog and would not in any way be confused with me. However, in light of TG's situation (not to mention the whole Moxie debacle), I've been wondering if I should change the name of my blog to something else. Not necessarily the URL, just the blog name. But I can't think of anything to change it to. And changing all my skins would be a real pain.

This is something I will ponder during my hiatus, which will resume...now.

Short Hiatus

I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be taking a week or two off from posting. I know I haven't posted much the past few days anyway, so I'm just going to make it official. I've got some other things demanding my attention right now, so I need to take a little break. However, I will be back, and I'll still be checking on things. You may even see me post a comment here and there. So, until I come back, remember...

Just, Wow...

Here's the trailer for The Passion.

(Via Rodent Regatta.)

Obscure and Beautiful Music

Dean Esmay asks, "...can you name a song you have heard that no one else you know has ever heard, but which in your estimation is exquisitely beautiful?" My answer is "Every Hour Here" by The Innocence Mission. This song is on their 1991 album Umbrella. If you love gentle, deeply spiritual, beautiful music, you should give The Innocence Mission a listen.

Iran Roundup

As I'm sure you know by now, the events of today were as follows: The student protests were cancelled because of threats of violence. Iranian student leaders were kidnapped. Despite the crackdown, there have been street fights between vigilantes who support the current regime and pro-democracy youths.

Here's a roundup of posts about the situation in Iran:

• Rev. Mike says: Brothers and Sisters, It's Time to Excise the Tumor. In the same post, he also has a timeline of events in Iran.
• Joel Fuhrmann has a roundup that includes this left-wing view of the Iranian pro-democracy movement.
• Jeff Jarvis' BuzzMachine has had continuing updates throughout the day.
• Michael Totten posts an open letter to the people of Iran. (First seen on BuzzMachine.)
• Winds of Change has a huge roundup of Iran-related posts: July 9 Carnival of the Liberties.
• Michele at A Small Victory also has a great roundup of posts and links.
• And finally, in today's Bleat, Lileks remembers an Iranian friend.

Update: Here's another good post I noticed: Joyful Christian has some interesting links about the theocratic government of Iran.

A Message to the People of Iran (Reprint)

AN OPEN LETTER IN SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE OF IRAN FROM THE WEBLOGGING COMMUNITY

We are not politicians, nor are we generals. We hold no power to dispatch diplomats to negotiate; we can send no troops to defend those who choose to risk their lives in the cause of freedom.

What power we have is in our words, and in our thoughts. It is that strength which we offer to the people of Iran today.

Across the diverse and often contentious world of weblogs, each of us has chosen to put aside our differences and come together to declare our unanimity on the following simple principles:

- That the people of Iran are allies of free men and women everywhere in the world, and deserve to live under a government of their own choosing, which respects their own personal liberties.

- That the current Iranian regime has failed to create a free and prosperous society, and attempts to mask its own failures by repression and tyranny.

We do not presume to know what is best for the people of Iran; but we are firm in our conviction that the policies of the current government stand in the way of the Iranian people's ability to make those choices for themselves.

And so we urge our own governments to turn their attention to Iran. The leaders and diplomats of the world's democracies must be clear in their opposition to the repressive actions of the current Iranian regime, but even more importantly, must be clear in their support for the aspirations of the Iranian people.

And to the people of Iran, we say: You are not alone. We see your demonstrations in the streets; we hear of your newspapers falling to censorship; and we watch with anticipation as you join the community of the Internet in greater and greater numbers. Our hopes are with you in your struggle for freedom. We cannot and will not presume to tell you the correct path to freedom; that is for you to choose. But we look forward to the day when we can welcome your nation into the community of free societies of the world, for we know with deepest certainty that such a day will come.

(Via Dean's World and On the Third Hand.)

Judgment Day for the Mullahs?

Pooya Dayanim hopes that day will come soon:

We just celebrated America's Independence Day. People throughout the world deserve freedom as well. As lovers of freedom we should all join the Iranian-American community and stand in solidarity with the people of Iran.

Judgment Day is approaching for those who have shed the blood of tens of thousands of innocent Iranians. Judgment Day is approaching for those who have ordered the stoning of women. Judgment Day is approaching for those who ordered the bombing of the Jewish community center in Argentina. Judgment Day is approaching for those who ordered the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon and the Khobar Towers in Riyadh. Judgment Day is approaching for those who started the chant: "Death to America" and everything America stands for. Judgment Day is approaching for the Islamic Republic of Iran. It may not be tomorrow, but soon this evil regime will join the other evil regimes in the dustbin of history. Judgment Day will come.

(Via LGF.)

The Bijani Twins

Lee Anne Millinger posts about the Iranian twins who sought another kind of freedom. These twins were willing to risk death for their freedom. I was sad when heard that they died...I had really hoped that they could beat the odds, that the operation would be successful.

I pray that now they have the ultimate freedom...forever in the presence of God.

July 9th - Iran's Independence Day?

Via the Command Post:

Diana West - Will July 9 be Iran's Fourth?

Whether this effort will lead to an ultimate showdown with the mullahs, or result in a crackdown on pro-democracy activists like the one that took place on July 9, 1999, nobody knows. But as terrorism expert Michael Ledeen has pointed out on the National Review's Web site, the mullahs, having arrested 4,000 demonstrators last month, are taking this tense situation very seriously. The regime itself admitted that just a quarter of its arrests were students. "The rest came from other walks of life," Ledeen writes. "In other words, the demonstrations were not restricted to a single sector of Iranian society, but were, for the first time, a truly national protest, both sociologically and geographically."

Iranian-born author and journalist Amir Taheri has recently elaborated on the democracy movement's varied nature. Writing on Townhall.com, he reports that democratic sympathies in Iran extend from the working class to the intellectual elite, and include the nearly two-thirds of the Iranian parliament (Majlis) that have petitioned "to transform Iran from a despotic-theocratic regime into a democratic one."

Meanwhile, Iranian Girl awaits tomorrow with hope and apprehension:

Tomorrow is July 9...the day that Iranians will show what they really want, & will prove that they're not a kind of people who leave alone the students & the young guys who are spending they life in prisons, just because they wanted freedom for all Iranians. I really hope that they do it well & I myself will try my best to do whatever I can as a young girl, we must also encourage each other; that's very important… Anyway, I know that all people in the world support us spiritually, & pray for all fighters of freedom. I wish that they also show their support by whatever they can do; I'm sure that bloggers & writers from other countries will not forget us. Oh, I feel that I'm making a will!!! You know, I can not ignore this feeling of anxiety...Ok, let's see what is waiting for Iranians in their destiny.

(Via NZPundit.)

A Chance Meeting

Joel Fuhrmann has an interesting story about making friends with an Iranian man during the height of the hostage crisis.

Iran: I have much to learn...

Tomorrow is the day that bloggers are to show their support for Iranian democracy. I'm going to try to post some things this evening, since I usually don't have time to post during the day.

First, Rev. Mike links to this item by Hossein Derakhshan: Want to Support Us, Know More About Us. This is where I feel very...inadequate. I wish I did know more about Iran and the situation there.

I know the government is an Islamic theocracy. I know that many of the citizens wish to be free of this type of government. I remember when the current regime there took over and I remember the American hostages being held for 444 days. I was only 12 and 13-years-old at the time, but I remember.

So, that's about it. And it's not enough. But I want to learn.

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Actually, I think it's more PG rated, but that wasn't one of the possible results. I was wrong...a PG rating is a possible result.

(Via Bene Diction, another "family-friendly" blogger.)

Evangelicals Are Not Fundamentalists

It seems any theologically conservative Christian can get the "fundie" label slapped on them these days. Thinkling Jared makes it clear that there is a difference between evangelicals and fundamentalists.

I grew up going to a fundamentalist church, so a lot of the points Jared brings up ring true. I now go to a theologically conservative Lutheran church, which probably has more in common with evangelicals than some other mainline churches.

On Marriage

Here are some thoughtful items on the subject of marriage that I've run across lately:

• Eve Tushnet recently linked to this article by a minister named Mike McNichols: Stumbling Toward a Theology of Getting Married. It's a lengthy but interesting read. Like Eve, I'm not sure if I agree with all of McNichols' conclusions, but I respect that he's trying to address the problem of couples living together before marriage in a non-superficial manner.
• Ben Domenech has this excellent essay: The Family Enemy. Ben says that as the government redefines "marriage," the definition of "family" will also be changed.

Acceptable Use of Military Force

JunkYard Blog points out a huge double standard:

It goes almost without saying that most of the left didn't and still don't support our intervention in Iraq. Human rights abuses had been a fixture of that country for decades, where a bloody tyrant killed anyone who became inconvenient. He hated America, hated our power, hated everything about us. He also, according to the consensus of such right-wing bodies as the United Nations Security Council, failed to comply with binding resolutions aimed at depriving him of horrible weapons he could use to kill or blackmail people in Israel, Europe and America. But none of that mattered to the left--they didn't support intervention, even when the pre-war argument that our very national security was at stake was compelling. If we find more evidence of Saddam's illegal weapons programs, the national security case for war will be iron-clad, but the left will never admit it was wrong.

Now, tiny and insignificant Liberia is embroiled in a civil war. It has been bloody, but by no means a threat to American security, and probably less bloody than the average day in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan or Saddam's Iraq. From the UN and elsewhere come calls for American intervention--from the same people who said we would fail in Afghanistan, the same people who didn't want us to use our military for its intended purpose of national self-defense.

Now, you can make a good case for involving the American military in these peacekeeping missions. Rev. Mike makes a compelling argument for such interventions (in this case, regarding Rwanda):

Contrary to those who would argue that peacekeeping and humanitarian missions are not part of the core mission for our military, I would argue that when other guys with guns are the root cause of the humanitarian crisis, then who else are we supposed to send?

Personally, I'm of two minds about this subject. Part of me agrees with Rev. Mike -- if we can do something, then perhaps we should. But then there's a part of me that says, "Why is it our job to be the world's rent-a-cops, especially since we get nothing but grief for it anyway?"

What gets me is the double standard pointed out in the JYB post. I posted about this in Rev. Mike's comments, and I'll reiterate my point here. What I want to say to those who whined about us going to Iraq, and are now whining because we don't go to other places is this: What on earth can America do to please you? It seems we are damned if we do and damned if we don't. If we dare use our military to actually defend our country (which is what the military is for), we are condemned as warmongers and imperialists. However, if we try to stay out of situations that don't directly affect our national security, we are condemned for being uncaring. You don't want us to be "imperialists," but yet you want us running around at your beckon call beck and call, putting out fires all over the place. Will you please make up your damned mind?

Just so you know...

I'm not going to be posting for a couple of days. Well, there's nothing unusual about that. But the reasons this time are a little different from the usual fatigue/burn-out/bad mood/too busy reasons.

Tomorrow, July 3rd, is my birthday. I'm going to take the day off and relax and stay away from computers as much as possible.

Then there's July 4th. Most people like to celebrate Independence Day. I don't want to bring anyone down, but I can't celebrate on that day. My brother died of a brain tumor on that day six years ago. I was going to write a post about my brother, but I just can't. Maybe someday I'll be able to, but not now.

So, until I post again (probably this weekend), check out the many fine blogs on my sidebar. And have a safe, enjoyable Fourth!

Good and Bad News on the Pro-Life Front

First the good news...A recent survey by a pro-choice women's group has found that a slim majority of women are pro-life (or at least oppose abortion-on-demand):

Fifty-one percent of women surveyed by the Center for the Advancement of Women said the government should prohibit abortion or limit it to extreme cases, such as rape, incest, or life-threatening complications.

The findings, with a 3 percent margin of error for the 1,000 women surveyed, tips the scale from the last sampling in 2001, when 45 percent of women sided against making abortion readily available or imposing only mild restrictions. Only 30 percent support making it generally available, down from 34 percent in 2001, the survey found.

I'm interested in whether there has been a shift in men's views of abortion as well.

(Via Joshua Claybourn.)

Now the bad news...This is absolutely depraved!

(First seen on Mark Shea's blog.)