Friday, September 17, 2004

Catholics Support Bush in Battleground States

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/9/16/210534.shtml
NewsMax.com's Fr. Michael Reilly says Catholic support for President Bush is strong and getting stronger.

Remember that performer that was nearly killed by a tiger?
Roy Horn had Life After Death Experience
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=583&e=3&u=/nm/20040916/od_nm/people_roy_tiger_dc
Horn was clinically dead for about a minute and told RTL about the experience: "I saw flashing bright lights and my mother. My beloved animals were lying at her feet."
He had a simple explanation for his brush with death on his 59th birthday: "I was not allowed to die just yet, because my wings for being an angel were not quite ready."

Reflections on Politics
I'm pretty passionate about the moral direction of the country. I'm worried that God will remove his blessing on our country if we allow the moral climate to get any worse than it is. Remember Sodom and Gomorrah? Perhaps I feel this way because I regret the mistakes my generation made about morality and I want to return to the way things were when I grew up. My family taught me to love God and to obey Him. I am trying to live that out the best I can.

But religion is not just a personal matter. The sins of each of us have an effect on all of us. The laws of our country are based on Christianity and the 10 commandments. Unlike when I was younger, I now see the wisdom of this, because we can only be free from crime if everyone obeys the commandments. Our freedom depends on obeying moral principles.

There are some key issues at stake that are being debated in the political arena these days: Abortion, Euthanasia (mercy killing), Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Human Cloning, and Homosexual "Marriage". I think it is sinful to support any of these evils. So I think it is sinful to vote for elected representatives that will enact laws that allow these evils. I have to vote according to my conscience. As I see it, these issues are so important that they out weigh all the other issues like jobs.

Also, I became a Republican when I studied for my MBA, which was years before I became convinced of the moral issues. My professors predicted the national debt increasing due to welfare and what the effect would be if we adopted what became known as "Reaganomics". These professors were dead right. Welfare led to a decline in the work ethic and high national debt while "Reaganomics" led to the great economy of the 1990s. I started to see that I had to vote for what was good for the country in the long run, not for the benefit of my own pocketbook. My knowledge of economics made it seem selfish to do anything else. That seems to be a moral issue to me.

I now base my vote on the things I learned, not on my feelings or what the TV says. I became curious about what makes this country's economy tick and I still am curious 30 years later. I still study about these subjects.

What this adds up to is that only the Republican party represents my views on morality and economics. I don't agree with everything the party supports; for example, I don't like the death penalty or unlimited gun rights. Those two issues seem minor in comparison with the others. With some exceptions, the Democrats do not represent my moral views.

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