So When Can We Call It Terrorism?

Victor Davis Hanson provides sobering context for the attack at Fort Hood:

...some 20 other [Islamist] killers [besides Hasan] since 9/11 [who] have shot, stabbed, or run over innocents at malls, airline counters, military facilities, and Jewish-affiliated centers.

We have wondered with incredulity how the elites in the West could have been so silent about the total evil of Stalinism. Are we reliving those times?

Truly, a Clunker.

Edmunds.com recently announced their estimate of the cost to Mr. Taxpayer of the the Obama "Clunkers" auto purchase incentive program. It came in a whopping $24K per vehicle. In related news, the estimated cost per job "saved or created" by this year's Spendulus Bill was at least $390K, based on the spending of $250B to support 640K jobs (source: WSJ).

Whither Human Spaceflight?

The Augustine Committee has released its report on the future of the United States' manned space program, concluding that either we adopt more ambitious goals for risking human life, or abandon the effort. In, particular: "the Committe concluded that the ultimate goal of exploration is to chart a path for human expansion into the solar system". We concur. We have considered what ultimate fate awaits human freedoms and democracy in a world with an exploding population, a diminishing supply of material and spiritual sustenance, and a metastasizing theocratic movement of intolerance and hatred for Western civilization. It is not a sanguine forecast. We believe it is no coincidence that the political revolution that resulted in the most supreme expression of human liberty occurred in a New World, where the principal challenge was to carve a free society out of a wilderness. When this experiment was attempted in the Old World, with its centuries-old social and economic castes, it degenerated into score-settling masquerading as "social justice". Islamofacism is the most dangerous modern variant now threatening civilization, while the infatuation with statism in our country is a less overtly murderous but no less noxious trend. So let us say farewell, sail to Mars, plant Old Glory, and build a Newer World.

Tough Love.

Mark 10:17-31

10:17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

10:18 Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

10:19 You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not
commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'"

10:20 He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth."

10:21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

10:22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

10:23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"

We will not delude ourselves with any sort of "yes, but..." response. We will ask for God's guidance in living our lives to do the most good.

America's Response to the Nobel Committee.

Problems with Healthcare Reform in Massachusetts.

The Boston Globe reports that despite the existence of state laws that mandate coverage and to control costs, as well as extensive participation by non-profit insurers, medical insurance premiums will rise about 10% in the coming year. The article also notes that one unintended consequence of required coverage in the state has been the deluge of physician office visits for physical examinations and other testing. Another substantial component of the cost increase is the movement of the bulk of baby-boomers into older age, accompanied by increased use of medical services and products. Too bad we can't legislate a moratorium on aging, but perhaps this Congress will try.

Chasin' That Demon of the Thin Air...

On October 14 1947, Chuck Yeager became the first human being to travel faster than the speed of sound, piloting the Bell X-1 over the high desert of California. So let us lift a glass of fine sippin' whisky at Pancho's Happy Bottom Riding Club in thanks to God for creating such men. (the video is a clip from The Right Stuff, the 1983 film adaptation of Tom Wolfe's great book).