Bedrock

Last year, my then 50-year-old brother was hospitalized with cranial bleeding that turned out to be a brain aneurysm. He survived but cannot work. I won’t deny that I am grateful that Medicaid covered his expenses and that he now receives disability. Somehow, a prosperous society like ours should provide help for those who cannot care for themselves and for those who suffer major calamities. Having said that, I am convinced that the federal government is not the best provider for such assistance. I got a “health care alert from working Americans,” attacking my Congressman for voting against the expansion of socialized medicine for children. It sounded so evil of him, daring to deny medical care for children. I despise that kind of dishonest rhetoric. Some call this step toward universal healthcare “incrementalism.” Knowing that many Americans still oppose socialized medicine, they want to give it to us anyway, in pieces. We already have Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid fo...

Attacks on free speech never end, especially against those with traditional or conservative views. The last time I wrote about this , I called Don Imus’ case one of “wrongful dismissal,” since he had broadcast in much the same manner throughout his career, and his employers had never warned or disciplined him, so far as we knew. Now, he has settled a breech-of-contract case with CBS . That doesn’t mitigate the attack on free speech, but it does compensate him for it and get him back on the air, eventually. His troubles are not over because one of the offended basketball players is suing him for defamation of character . He probably did hurt her feelings, but did she suffer economic loss? I doubt it! Currently Mike Savage is going through a similar situation. I have listened to Savage enough to get irritated and turn him off, but I agree with his most basic themes— borders, language, culture . Those themes put him at odds with open borders folks, anyone opposed to E...

A while back, I wrote , questioning the willingness to trust the government and politicians. I challenged people not to trust anyone blindly, but especially the largely socialist perspective and the secular progressive ideology behind it. The alternative I offered was not an opposing ideology but a preference for individual freedom and free market capitalism. I have a healthy mistrust of people and institutions, and I doubt we should ever trust any of them without reservation, even the ones that seem to hold our values and convictions. Instead, I suggested that we stop depending so much on government and live as free people, capable of accomplishing good for the greatest number of people, controlling our own resources directly rather than entrusting them for government bureaucrats to manage, often badly and inefficiently, on our behalf. My pastor began a series of messages in response to several highly popular atheists who have a different kind of suspicion; they question faith itself,...