Getting Serious

Charles Krauthammer has a good column today about America’s debt crisis, and hope for the future.

We have heard everyone — from Obama’s own debt commission to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — call the looming debt a mortal threat to the nation. . . . We can see the future. The only question has been: When will the country finally rouse itself?

Amazingly, the answer is now.

I know, I’m amazed, too!

A Modern Saint Paul

Paul (also known as Saul) was a Jewish leader who persecuted early Christians, arresting and imprisoning them and apparently even ordering their deaths.  He was, perhaps, the worst of sinners; yet God called him, and changed his heart, and Paul became one of the great evangelists of the early church (and wrote several of the books of the New Testament).  It’s a remarkable story of grace and redemption, and an assurance that no one is beyond the power of God’s forgiveness and salvation through Christ. 

As Giving Honor to the Weaker Vessel

I was with some people last night when one of the girls in the group set her bag down with a thump, prompting someone to remark that it must be very heavy. 

Safe, Legal, and Rare

Mark Steyn has a roundup, appropriately hyperlinked, of some very inappropriate things that are being done in the service of abortion.  If you have a strong stomach (fair warning: this is very disturbing stuff), I recommend it, especially if you haven’t heard about any of this yet from your normal news sources. 

Tightening the Belt?

(Tightening the screws?)

I’ve talked before (here and here) about the possibility of a constitutional amendment to address the structural problems with our democracy that make it tend toward a more and more bloated government.  Apparently Senator Orrin Hatch has proposed a balanced-budget amendment several times before, but this time, as I’ve suggested, the current political climate could actually make it happen.  In fact, this writer says that new Senator Rand Paul will also be proposing a balanced-budget amendment of his own.  Better too many than too few!

In other news, I’m encouraged to hear that new Tea Party-type congressmen and the American people may actually be serious about dealing with the problem of government spending.

Update (February 10th, 2011): National Review Online reports (with links to further details) that the conservatives have won this internal debate among House Republicans:  “GOP Will Fulfill ‘Pledge,’ Cut $100 Billion”.  It’s only one battle, but as far as it goes, I think this is great news!