Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Philosophical Fragments

Home
Evangelical
Morning Report, Weekend Edition, August 28th: Burying the Last Lion, Intercepting North Korean Arms, the "Church of Hate," Health Care for Unions, Michelle's Hair, and Investigating the Investigators

Morning Report, Weekend Edition, August 28th: Burying the Last Lion, Intercepting North Korean Arms, the "Church of Hate," Health Care for Unions, Michelle's Hair, and Investigating the Investigators

Last updated on: August 29, 2009 at 11:32 am by Timothy Dalrymple

Morning Report, Weekend Edition, August 28th: Burying the Last Lion, Intercepting North Korean Arms, the "Church of Hate," Health Care for Unions, Michelle's Hair, and Investigating the Investigators 2009-08-29T11:32:30-04:00 Timothy Dalrymple

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

One Christian’s perspective on the day’s news:

1. Ted Kennedy was remembered last night, and whatever your politics it was a pleasure to hear the stories and remembrances of some of the most prominent people in the nation. (A note for Bostonians: didn’t Mumbles Menino come across poorly, like a kid at the adult’s table?) Today there is a funeral mass, and Kennedy will be flown down to Washington for a prayer at the capital and burial at Arlington National Cemetery. I was never a fan of Teddy’s. I find much more to appreciate in JFK, whose politics were quite different from what Teddy’s politics became. But I understand why so many regard Teddy so highly, and it was nice to hear the tributes last night in particular from those who sat across the aisle from him.

Obama will deliver the eulogy. Read an account here. I’m tempted to wander of to Our Lady of Perpetual Help basilica if only to see the various luminaries gathered there. Here is one picture from before the mass, which captures our past two Presidents, our current President and quite possibly our future President:

Again, may Teddy rest in peace.

2. The UAE interdicted an arms shipment from North Korea to Iran, containing everything from missiles to what could very well be nuclear arms parts. The UN was informed of this two weeks ago, apparently. What has the UN done about it? They’ve sent two letters. Yawn.

3. Amy Sullivan is not wrong to call this a “Church of Hate.” A pretty damning recording from a sermon given in Phoenix the day before Barack Obama’s visit–the visit where protesters were standing around with assault rifles. I don’t think much of this guy and his “rant” (who doesn’t seem to consider it possible that such a pastor would have opposed the Iraq or Afghan wars; he’s assuming a lot about the pastor, but 99% of what the pastor speaks about is the issue of abortion), but this video is worth watching if only to hear the sermon from Steven L. Anderson.

These are sound-bites cut out of a sermon in order to make a political argument, of course. The other 95% of the sermon could have been saying “no one should take this into their own hands, and we should pray for the President, and I appreciate some of the things he’s done.” Who knows? But regardless, whatever the context, these sorts of statements are hateful and wrong. Of course there was all kind of assassination porn directed toward George W. Bush from the Left–nothing worse than we are seeing now. The pastor tries to defend himself here, but the sermon segments are pretty damning. But this is unacceptable; it is vile; it is un-Christian. And it deeply, deeply compromises our witness.

4. We have been following events in Honduras on this blog. Robert Micheletti, who was given power after the Supreme Court removed Manuel Zelaya and the military shipped him out of country, has offered to step down from power if Zelaya himself renounces power forever. Zelaya would not be sent to jail for his crimes against the nation’s constitution, but would be allowed to live as an ordinary citizen. No word yet on Zelaya’s response, but I’m not holding my breath. I suspect he still holds Chavez-style dreams of being a “benevolent” Leftist dictator for life.

5. Charges continue to be made (in this case by a Congresswoman from Los Angeles) that opponents of Obamacare are motivated by racism. And yet when the press refers to the ugliness of the debate, they refer only to the protesters? On a more substantive level, Mike Enzi, one of the Senators who was considering cooperating with Obamacare, has decided it can’t be saved.

6. Another gift to supporters? The health care reform bill that passed out of a House committee before the recess includes a $10B subsidy for union pension plans. As the Detroit news says: ”

One reason the public so distrusts the health care plan being considered by Congress is that so many troublesome details keep bubbling out of the massive legislation.

The latest example is the $10 billion taxpayers will be asked to shell out to prop up the United Auto Workers’ retiree health insurance program. …

In effect, it would ask every taxpayer, regardless of whether they’ll have health insurance coverage themselves after they retire — and most won’t — to chip in to maintain the UAW’s coverage, which even after the union’s givebacks is still better than what the average American worker receives.

No wonder the unions have sent out their toughs to stand against the town hall protesters.

7. Catnip for conspiracy theorists.

8. Apparently, Michelle Obama’s hair matters. Time says so.

9. Mike Huckabee claims that Ted Kennedy would have been told “to take pain pills and go home and die” instead of receiving quality end-of-life treatment under Obamacare. Joe Klein accuses him of “bearing false witness.” Is Huckabee trying to out-Palin Palin? I don’t think so. As others have shown, there is legitimate reason to be concerned that any movement toward nationalized health insurance is a movement toward rationing, and in particular rationing of those who are near death. According to some estimates, 80% of our health care costs come in the final year of life. If you’re looking to cut costs, and if there will be government pressure to cut costs because the government is footing the bill, it’s common sense that there will be pressure to cut end-of-life treatments. Ezekiel Emanuel strongly advocated, as recently as February, little to no coverage for those under a few years of age and the very old. Here is the graph in which he proposed how much money should be spent on individuals at certain ages:

As McCaughey explains:

Dr. Emanuel concedes that his plan appears to discriminate against older people, but he explains: “Unlike allocation by sex or race, allocation by age is not invidious discrimination. . . . Treating 65 year olds differently because of stereotypes or falsehoods would be ageist; treating them differently because they have already had more life-years is not.”

The youngest are also put at the back of the line: “Adolescents have received substantial education and parental care, investments that will be wasted without a complete life. Infants, by contrast, have not yet received these investments. . . . As the legal philosopher Ronald Dworkin argues, ‘It is terrible when an infant dies, but worse, most people think, when a three-year-old dies and worse still when an adolescent does,’ this argument is supported by empirical surveys.” (thelancet.com, Jan. 31, 2009).

Ezekiel Emanuel, of course, is Rahm Emanuel’s brother and a health care advisor to the President. So Huckabee may be wrong. But he is not simply bearing false witness. This is a difference of opinion, a way of reading the health care proposals that Klein disagrees with. But it calls for a reasoned and detailed response, not just name-calling.

9. Today’s Two-Sides. The Washington Post’s Fred Hiatt, from the Left, says that we need a Souter-O’Connor Commission to investigate CIA abuses. The Washington Times’ Clifford May, writing from the Right, laments how we are “demonizing the defenders.” And here is an account in the Post of how Khalid Sheikh Mohammad became an asset after waterboarding. You decide.

Previous Post

August 28, 2009

A Two-Sides Twofer: the CIA, the Church Commission, and Enhanced Interrogations

Next Post

August 30, 2009 Sunday Funnies and Inspiration: Tom Cruise and Thomas Merton

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abortion adoption Africa Aging AIDS America Worship American history Americolatry An Open Letter to a College Freshman animals Apologetics art Atheism Authors Barack Obama Bible Biblical Scholarship Billy Graham Blogging Bono Book Review Books That Change Lives Breakfast Links Bulletin Board Business Children Christian Approach to Politics Christian Media Christian Right Derangement Syndrome Christianity and Homosexuality Christians in Government Christmas Chuck Colson CLS v Martinez Comic Creation Creativity and the Arts Cross Examinations Cross Investigations Daily Fragment Daily Trinity Death debt Deep Thoughts on Fatherhood depression economy education Election 2012 entertainment Environment Epistemology Erik Campano Euthanasia Evangelicalism Evangelicals and Gays Everyday Transcendence evil evolution Facebook Jesus faith Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics Faith and Politics faith and reason family Feminism foreign affairs Franklin Graham Future of Evangelicalism Galen D. gay marriage George W. Bush Guest Posts Guns Gymnastics Harold Camping Heaven Hell Holidays Hollywood Homosexuality iam2.org Illegal Immigration immigration Immigration Reform Injustice Inspiration Interviews Islam Jeremy Lin Jesus jesus christ John Mark Reynolds Johnnie Moore Judgment Day Just War Theory Killing Osama Link of the Day Lists of the Week Mark Goldblatt Marriage Military Missions Mitt Romney Modern Western Thought Monastic wisdom Mormonism Morning Hash Morning Report Motherhood Movies Obamacare Old Testament Orphan Care Palin Parenting Pastoral Resources Patheos Peace Between Religions PEPFAR Persecution Peter Wehner Peter Wehner Philosophy Political Quotes of the Day politics Politics and Economics Pornography Prejudice Prisoner Rape Question of the Week Race Radical Faith Rapture Ravi Zacharias Rick Santorum Russia Salvation Sarah Palin Scandals Science Science and Faith Separation of Church and State Series sex sex slavery social justice Social Justice Ministry Spiritual Disciplines sports Steven Tyler Suffering Suicide Sunday Funnies T. Dalrymple Tea Party Technology terrorism The Christian Media Files The Daily Trinity The Electorate The Ethics of Rhetoric The Future of Seminary Education The Middle East The Obama Presidency theological Theological Renewal Theology Uncategorized Understanding Evangelicalism Vocation war War and Peace With Distinction Word to the Wise Writers

Select a Month October 2015 June 2015 May 2015 March 2015 December 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz