Wednesday, November 01, 2006
THIS SAYS IT ALL - KERRY'S FOOT IN MOUTH
No matter what you may think about what Kerry said, its is clear what the troops think.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Happy Reformation Day!
Holloween is for pagans. Happy reformation day!
Martin Luther (1483–1546). The Ninety-Five Theses.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.
Introductory Letter
Jesus
To the most Reverend Father in Christ and most illustrious Lord, Albert, Archbishop and Primate of the Churches of Magdeburg and Mentz, Marquis of Brandenburg, etc., his lord and pastor in Christ, most gracious and worthy of all fear and reverence—
THE GRACE of God be with you, and whatsoever it is and can do.
1
Spare me, most reverend Father in Christ, most illustrious Prince, if I, the very dregs of humanity, have dared to think of addressing a letter to the eminence of your sublimity. The Lord Jesus is my witness that, in the consciousness of my own pettiness and baseness, I have long put off the doing of that which I have now hardened my forehead to perform, moved thereto most especially by the sense of that faithful duty which I feel that I owe to your most reverend Fatherhood in Christ. May your Highness then in the meanwhile deign to cast your eyes upon one grain of dust, and, in your pontifical clemency, to understand my prayer.
2
Papal indulgences are being carried about, under your most distinguished authority, for the building of St. Peter’s. In respect of these, I do not so much accuse the extravagant sayings of the preachers, which I have not heard, but I grieve at the very false ideas which the people conceive from them, and which are spread abroad in common talk on every side—namely, that unhappy souls believe that, if they buy letters of indulgences, they are sure of their salvation; also, that, as soon as they have thrown their contribution into the chest, souls forthwith fly out of purgatory; and furthermore, that so great is the grace thus conferred, that there is no sin so great—even, as they say, if, by an impossibility, any one had violated the Mother of God—but that it may be pardoned; and again, that by these indulgences a man is freed from all punishment and guilt.
3
O gracious God! it is thus that the souls committed to your care, most excellent Father, are being taught unto their death, and a most severe account, which you will have to render for all of them, is growing and increasing. Hence I have not been able to keep silence any longer on this subject, for by no function of a bishop’s office can a man become sure of salvation, since he does not even become sure through the grace of God infused into him, but the Apostle bids us to be ever working out our salvation in fear and trembling. (Phil. ii. 12.) Even the righteous man—says Peter—shall scarcely be saved. (1 Peter iv. 18.) In fact, so narrow is the way which leads unto life, that the Lord, speaking by the prophets Amos and Zachariah, calls those who are to be saved brands snatched from the burning, and our Lord everywhere declares the difficulty of salvation.
4
Why, then, by these false stories and promises of pardon, do the preachers of them make the people to feel secure and without fear? since indulgences confer absolutely no good on souls as regards salvation or holiness, but only take away the outward penalty which was wont of old to be canonically imposed.
5
Lastly, works of piety and charity are infinitely better than indulgences, and yet they do not preach these with such display or so much zeal; nay, they keep silence about them for the sake of preaching pardons. And yet it is the first and sole duty of all bishops, that the people should learn the Gospel and Christian charity: for Christ nowhere commands that indulgences should be preached. What a dreadful thing it is then, what peril to a bishop, if, while the Gospel is passed over in silence, he permits nothing but the noisy outcry of indulgences to be spread among his people, and bestows more care on these than on the Gospel! Will not Christ say to them: “Straining at a gnat, and swallowing a camel”?
6
Besides all this, most reverend Father in the Lord, in that instruction to the commissaries which has been put forth under the name of your most reverend Fatherhood it is stated—doubtless without the knowledge and consent of your most reverend Fatherhood—that one of the principal graces conveyed by indulgences is that inestimable gift of God, by which man is reconciled to God, and all the pains of purgatory are done away with; and further, that contrition is not necessary for those who thus redeem souls or buy confessional licenses.
7
But what can I do, excellent Primate and most illustrious Prince, save to entreat your reverend Fatherhood, through the Lord Jesus Christ, to deign to turn on us the eye of fatherly care, and to suppress that advertisement altogether and impose on the preachers of pardons another form of preaching, lest perchance some one should at length arise who will put forth writings in confutation of them and of their advertisements, to the deepest reproach of your most illustrious Highness. It is intensely abhorrent to me that this should be done, and yet I fear that it will happen, unless the evil be speedily remedied.
8
This faithful discharge of my humble duty I entreat that your most illustrious Grace will deign to receive in a princely and bishop-like spirit— that is, with all clemency—even as I offer it with a most faithful heart, and one most devoted to your most reverend Fatherhood, since I too am part of your flock. May the Lord Jesus keep your most reverend Fatherhood for ever and ever. Amen.
9
From Wittenberg, on the eve of All Saints, in the year 1517.
10
If it so please your most reverend Fatherhood, you may look at these Disputations, that you may perceive how dubious a matter is that opinion about indulgences, which they disseminate as if it were most certain.
11
To your most reverend Fatherhood,
12
MARTIN LUTHER.
Martin Luther (1483–1546). The Ninety-Five Theses.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.
Introductory Letter
Jesus
To the most Reverend Father in Christ and most illustrious Lord, Albert, Archbishop and Primate of the Churches of Magdeburg and Mentz, Marquis of Brandenburg, etc., his lord and pastor in Christ, most gracious and worthy of all fear and reverence—
THE GRACE of God be with you, and whatsoever it is and can do.
1
Spare me, most reverend Father in Christ, most illustrious Prince, if I, the very dregs of humanity, have dared to think of addressing a letter to the eminence of your sublimity. The Lord Jesus is my witness that, in the consciousness of my own pettiness and baseness, I have long put off the doing of that which I have now hardened my forehead to perform, moved thereto most especially by the sense of that faithful duty which I feel that I owe to your most reverend Fatherhood in Christ. May your Highness then in the meanwhile deign to cast your eyes upon one grain of dust, and, in your pontifical clemency, to understand my prayer.
2
Papal indulgences are being carried about, under your most distinguished authority, for the building of St. Peter’s. In respect of these, I do not so much accuse the extravagant sayings of the preachers, which I have not heard, but I grieve at the very false ideas which the people conceive from them, and which are spread abroad in common talk on every side—namely, that unhappy souls believe that, if they buy letters of indulgences, they are sure of their salvation; also, that, as soon as they have thrown their contribution into the chest, souls forthwith fly out of purgatory; and furthermore, that so great is the grace thus conferred, that there is no sin so great—even, as they say, if, by an impossibility, any one had violated the Mother of God—but that it may be pardoned; and again, that by these indulgences a man is freed from all punishment and guilt.
3
O gracious God! it is thus that the souls committed to your care, most excellent Father, are being taught unto their death, and a most severe account, which you will have to render for all of them, is growing and increasing. Hence I have not been able to keep silence any longer on this subject, for by no function of a bishop’s office can a man become sure of salvation, since he does not even become sure through the grace of God infused into him, but the Apostle bids us to be ever working out our salvation in fear and trembling. (Phil. ii. 12.) Even the righteous man—says Peter—shall scarcely be saved. (1 Peter iv. 18.) In fact, so narrow is the way which leads unto life, that the Lord, speaking by the prophets Amos and Zachariah, calls those who are to be saved brands snatched from the burning, and our Lord everywhere declares the difficulty of salvation.
4
Why, then, by these false stories and promises of pardon, do the preachers of them make the people to feel secure and without fear? since indulgences confer absolutely no good on souls as regards salvation or holiness, but only take away the outward penalty which was wont of old to be canonically imposed.
5
Lastly, works of piety and charity are infinitely better than indulgences, and yet they do not preach these with such display or so much zeal; nay, they keep silence about them for the sake of preaching pardons. And yet it is the first and sole duty of all bishops, that the people should learn the Gospel and Christian charity: for Christ nowhere commands that indulgences should be preached. What a dreadful thing it is then, what peril to a bishop, if, while the Gospel is passed over in silence, he permits nothing but the noisy outcry of indulgences to be spread among his people, and bestows more care on these than on the Gospel! Will not Christ say to them: “Straining at a gnat, and swallowing a camel”?
6
Besides all this, most reverend Father in the Lord, in that instruction to the commissaries which has been put forth under the name of your most reverend Fatherhood it is stated—doubtless without the knowledge and consent of your most reverend Fatherhood—that one of the principal graces conveyed by indulgences is that inestimable gift of God, by which man is reconciled to God, and all the pains of purgatory are done away with; and further, that contrition is not necessary for those who thus redeem souls or buy confessional licenses.
7
But what can I do, excellent Primate and most illustrious Prince, save to entreat your reverend Fatherhood, through the Lord Jesus Christ, to deign to turn on us the eye of fatherly care, and to suppress that advertisement altogether and impose on the preachers of pardons another form of preaching, lest perchance some one should at length arise who will put forth writings in confutation of them and of their advertisements, to the deepest reproach of your most illustrious Highness. It is intensely abhorrent to me that this should be done, and yet I fear that it will happen, unless the evil be speedily remedied.
8
This faithful discharge of my humble duty I entreat that your most illustrious Grace will deign to receive in a princely and bishop-like spirit— that is, with all clemency—even as I offer it with a most faithful heart, and one most devoted to your most reverend Fatherhood, since I too am part of your flock. May the Lord Jesus keep your most reverend Fatherhood for ever and ever. Amen.
9
From Wittenberg, on the eve of All Saints, in the year 1517.
10
If it so please your most reverend Fatherhood, you may look at these Disputations, that you may perceive how dubious a matter is that opinion about indulgences, which they disseminate as if it were most certain.
11
To your most reverend Fatherhood,
12
MARTIN LUTHER.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
THE OREGONIAN IS ENDORSING RON SAXTON!
I believe in Miracles...
Change begins at the top
Oregon voters should elect Republican Ron Saxton to replace Ted Kulongoski as the state's governor
Sunday, October 15, 2006
The Oregonian
Ron Saxton opens many of his campaign appearances with a question: Are you satisfied with Oregon and its state government?
We're not.
This state has slipped and fallen. School funding is below the national average. Oregon is near the bottom in public support of universities. The number of troopers patrolling highways is only half of what the state mustered 30 years ago. Oregon's system of public finance is a mess, and Oregon, virtually alone among states, has no rainy day fund.
Worse, many Oregonians seem unwilling to lift a finger, or spend another dime, to remedy these problems. There is a weariness in Oregon and a deep cynicism of government. It seems there is nothing constructive voters would agree to right now, not more money for schools or health care, and certainly not reform of the state's flawed tax system.
Oregon cannot go on this way. This state must change, and the change must begin at the top: Voters should elect Ron Saxton as the next governor.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski is a good man, an honest and compassionate leader with a compelling life story who, over the past 30 years, has served in all three branches of Oregon government.
But Oregon needs new energy, new blood, new ideas and a determination to get them done. And only Saxton, the most capable Republican candidate for Oregon governor in the 24 years that Democrats have held the job, promises to bring that passion for change to the executive office.
History will be much kinder to Kulongoski's record than the multimillion-dollar air war Saxton has waged. Kulongoski led Oregon through four difficult years. The economy was still in free fall and the state budget was awash in red ink when he took office. Right away, he was confronted with a public pension system with $17 billion in unfunded liabilities.
He cut public pensions over the objections of the labor unions that had supported him his entire public life. Whatever happens in this election, Oregonians owe Kulongoski their thanks for his courage to do what had to be done for the good of the state.
Scandal and war also haunted Kulongoski's term. The man he chose to lead a higher education renaissance, former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt, was exposed for his long ago sexual abuse of a teen-age girl. Goldschmidt's reputation was shattered -- and so was Kulongoski's faith in a man who had long been his political role model.
The Oregon deaths from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan also have scarred Kulongoski's years in office. Kulongoski, himself a former Marine, has attended memorial services for nearly all of the more than 75 Oregon servicemen and women who have lost their lives. No elected official anywhere has shown more compassion and respect for the soldiers and Marines and their families.
Recent years have been full of challenges, though, and Kulongoski has met some but not others. He hasn't assembled a consistently strong staff. He hasn't worked effectively with the Legislature. Major areas of state government, notably the $9 billion Department of Human Services, have seen a parade of directors and years of poor fiscal management.
Most important, he hasn't persuaded the Legislature or voters to follow his lead. There's no reason to believe that will change. His approval rating is among the lowest of U.S. governors. The Legislature, like the state at large, is full of people ready to challenge him on his spending priorities.
Is there anyone, for example, who believes most lawmakers, or voters, would support Kulongoski's proposed tax on auto insurance to fund the state police patrol? That leads us to worry that two years into another Kulongoski term, the state police would be no better off than they are today.
Saxton, meanwhile, is eager to pursue creative, even controversial, ways to make available dollars stretch further. He doesn't believe the only choice is a new insurance tax, or the same shrunken state patrol. He's ready to attack the health care costs eroding education budgets. He's prepared to experiment with outsourcing some state administrative tasks to save money and be more effective. He's willing to go looking for cost savings, efficiencies and innovations where no Oregon governor has gone over the past two decades.
It is worth noting that Saxton was the first major political figure in Oregon to demand the reforms of the Public Employees Retirement System that over time will preserve several billion dollars for public services.
Saxton argues he is ready to govern with the revenue Oregon has, not with money he might wish it has. He says he can combine the healthy additional income now pouring into state coffers -- an estimated $2 billion in the next budget cycle -- with spending efficiencies to find money to make investments in education and public safety while simultaneously cutting capital gains and estate taxes.
As it stands, those numbers don't add up if Oregonians take up Saxton's invitation to pass Measure 41, which would cut income tax revenues by about $800 million a biennium. If 41 passes, Saxton would drop his capital-gains and estate-tax plans. It's not clear either whether he would use the $200 million corporate kicker to begin building a rainy day fund. We think he should.
We differ with Saxton on some other policy issues, too. Yet on the core issues -- strengthening education, bolstering the police and restoring the trust of voters -- Saxton stands just where Oregon's next governor must stand.
Saxton has a demonstrably strong record on education, the central issue of the 2006 campaign. He co-founded the Portland Schools Foundation. He is one of the very few top private sector leaders in Portland, or anywhere in this state, to give hundreds and hundreds of hours of his time and expertise to the local school board. He supports education spending reforms because he's determined to get more money where it absolutely belongs: in the classroom.
It is a leap of faith to endorse a former school board chairman over a sitting governor. If all was well, we would recommend that voters re-elect Kulongoski. But the times demand a fresh look at Oregon's problems and Saxton brings an open, independent mind to the task. We recommend that voters select him as their next governor.
Change begins at the top
Oregon voters should elect Republican Ron Saxton to replace Ted Kulongoski as the state's governor
Sunday, October 15, 2006
The Oregonian
Ron Saxton opens many of his campaign appearances with a question: Are you satisfied with Oregon and its state government?
We're not.
This state has slipped and fallen. School funding is below the national average. Oregon is near the bottom in public support of universities. The number of troopers patrolling highways is only half of what the state mustered 30 years ago. Oregon's system of public finance is a mess, and Oregon, virtually alone among states, has no rainy day fund.
Worse, many Oregonians seem unwilling to lift a finger, or spend another dime, to remedy these problems. There is a weariness in Oregon and a deep cynicism of government. It seems there is nothing constructive voters would agree to right now, not more money for schools or health care, and certainly not reform of the state's flawed tax system.
Oregon cannot go on this way. This state must change, and the change must begin at the top: Voters should elect Ron Saxton as the next governor.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski is a good man, an honest and compassionate leader with a compelling life story who, over the past 30 years, has served in all three branches of Oregon government.
But Oregon needs new energy, new blood, new ideas and a determination to get them done. And only Saxton, the most capable Republican candidate for Oregon governor in the 24 years that Democrats have held the job, promises to bring that passion for change to the executive office.
History will be much kinder to Kulongoski's record than the multimillion-dollar air war Saxton has waged. Kulongoski led Oregon through four difficult years. The economy was still in free fall and the state budget was awash in red ink when he took office. Right away, he was confronted with a public pension system with $17 billion in unfunded liabilities.
He cut public pensions over the objections of the labor unions that had supported him his entire public life. Whatever happens in this election, Oregonians owe Kulongoski their thanks for his courage to do what had to be done for the good of the state.
Scandal and war also haunted Kulongoski's term. The man he chose to lead a higher education renaissance, former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt, was exposed for his long ago sexual abuse of a teen-age girl. Goldschmidt's reputation was shattered -- and so was Kulongoski's faith in a man who had long been his political role model.
The Oregon deaths from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan also have scarred Kulongoski's years in office. Kulongoski, himself a former Marine, has attended memorial services for nearly all of the more than 75 Oregon servicemen and women who have lost their lives. No elected official anywhere has shown more compassion and respect for the soldiers and Marines and their families.
Recent years have been full of challenges, though, and Kulongoski has met some but not others. He hasn't assembled a consistently strong staff. He hasn't worked effectively with the Legislature. Major areas of state government, notably the $9 billion Department of Human Services, have seen a parade of directors and years of poor fiscal management.
Most important, he hasn't persuaded the Legislature or voters to follow his lead. There's no reason to believe that will change. His approval rating is among the lowest of U.S. governors. The Legislature, like the state at large, is full of people ready to challenge him on his spending priorities.
Is there anyone, for example, who believes most lawmakers, or voters, would support Kulongoski's proposed tax on auto insurance to fund the state police patrol? That leads us to worry that two years into another Kulongoski term, the state police would be no better off than they are today.
Saxton, meanwhile, is eager to pursue creative, even controversial, ways to make available dollars stretch further. He doesn't believe the only choice is a new insurance tax, or the same shrunken state patrol. He's ready to attack the health care costs eroding education budgets. He's prepared to experiment with outsourcing some state administrative tasks to save money and be more effective. He's willing to go looking for cost savings, efficiencies and innovations where no Oregon governor has gone over the past two decades.
It is worth noting that Saxton was the first major political figure in Oregon to demand the reforms of the Public Employees Retirement System that over time will preserve several billion dollars for public services.
Saxton argues he is ready to govern with the revenue Oregon has, not with money he might wish it has. He says he can combine the healthy additional income now pouring into state coffers -- an estimated $2 billion in the next budget cycle -- with spending efficiencies to find money to make investments in education and public safety while simultaneously cutting capital gains and estate taxes.
As it stands, those numbers don't add up if Oregonians take up Saxton's invitation to pass Measure 41, which would cut income tax revenues by about $800 million a biennium. If 41 passes, Saxton would drop his capital-gains and estate-tax plans. It's not clear either whether he would use the $200 million corporate kicker to begin building a rainy day fund. We think he should.
We differ with Saxton on some other policy issues, too. Yet on the core issues -- strengthening education, bolstering the police and restoring the trust of voters -- Saxton stands just where Oregon's next governor must stand.
Saxton has a demonstrably strong record on education, the central issue of the 2006 campaign. He co-founded the Portland Schools Foundation. He is one of the very few top private sector leaders in Portland, or anywhere in this state, to give hundreds and hundreds of hours of his time and expertise to the local school board. He supports education spending reforms because he's determined to get more money where it absolutely belongs: in the classroom.
It is a leap of faith to endorse a former school board chairman over a sitting governor. If all was well, we would recommend that voters re-elect Kulongoski. But the times demand a fresh look at Oregon's problems and Saxton brings an open, independent mind to the task. We recommend that voters select him as their next governor.
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