UNI Blog - From the Washington Bureau

The proposed amendment is aimed at getting the ever-growing federal deficit under control. The amendment would limit total annual outlays of the federal government to one-fifth of the Gross Domestic Product. GDP is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of U.S. in one calendar year. That 20% limit could only be exceeded in times of war.

Twenty percent has been the historical average since World War II, until recent years when it jumped to 23% of the GDP in a single year alone. The sponsors claim that federal spending has since risen to, what they call, a near-astronomical 24.7%; and, that just took two years. Supporters predict that federal spending will reach 40% of the Gross Domestic Product over the next two decades, unless something is done to force the government to hold down spending.

Even supporters admit that there is one drawback to the amendment. As drafted, it leaves it to Congress to pass “enabling legislation” to put the limit into practice. For example, the amendment does not explain how “one-fifth of economic output” is to be measured. Congress could measure the average Gross Domestic Product anyway it wants, even using some definition that would still give lawmakers plenty of wiggle room for pet project spending.

It is not likely that this amendment will ever go into effect. It is a long and difficult process to amend our Constitution. Our founders made it that way on purpose so that our long-cherished freedoms cannot be easily tinkered with by despots who would withdraw our rights.

This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.

Let us know how God is blessing you! Please share your comments below.

The following quote comes from an address delivered by Dr.Francis Schaeffer at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in 1982. “Christians, in the last 80 years or so, have only been seeing things as bits and pieces which have gradually begun to trouble them and others, instead of understanding that they are the natural outcome of a change from a Christian worldview to a humanistic one; things such as over-permissiveness, pornography, the problem of the public schools, the breakdown of the family, abortion, and many, many other things.”

Schaeffer warned that Christians must not be troubled with the individual thing, but we must see them as symptoms in the deeper problem.  That is a change in America and all of the western world from a Judeo-Christian consensus to a humanistic one. He pointed out that instead of the final reality being the eternal, all powerful creator God westerners by and large, now see everything as only  material or energy which has existed somehow forever in some form and now shaped into its present complex form only by pure chance.

Dr. Schaeffer found it more frightening that in America today any basis of law then becomes arbitrary — merely certain people making decisions as to what is for the good of society at that given moment.  He believed that is the real reason for the breakdown in morals in our country. He said that is the reason that our Supreme Court now functions so thoroughly upon the fact of arbitrary law. They have no basis for law that is fixed, therefore a privileged few people come together and decide what they arbitrarily believe is for the good of society and that becomes law. Aren’t Francis Schaeffer’s words of 26 years ago even more true today than when he spoke them.

This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.

Let us know how God is blessing you! Please share your comments below.

If you are, chances are you’re a man. And it’s for sure you’re not alone in these days of computers, cell phones, Ipods and numerous other distractions. Of course, none of those things are wrong in and of themselves. But, when we become obsessed with them, they can cut us off from face to face contact with other people. In big cities where long commutes are the norm, people’s schedules get so cramped that they aren’t interested in meeting new people. They just want to ‘chill out’ when they get home.

Somehow, using technology is easier; you just sit down at your computer and join the online chat session or something of that sort. So face to face meetings or discussions with other people decrease. Remember when neighbors sat out on their porches at night and got to know their neighbors? But when air conditioning came along, we saw porches become less and less important. Television also kept us glued to the TV screen. Thus, we didn’t get out to know our neighbors.

And then, our mobile society adds to the problem. It’s not unusual for people to move to different places in the country - sometimes many times during their lifetime. So any friends they had are left behind, and they’re challenged to find new ones in their new city. Remember the New Testament story of Jesus asking a Samaritan woman at the well for a drink of water? What a beautiful picture of human interaction. Jesus went out of his way to approach the woman with great humility. He sincerely showed interest in her. And the consequence, her life was transformed. But what if the woman at the well had been caught up in something else and didn’t make time for Jesus? What kind of rich experiences are we missing out on by not being or having a friend?

This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.

Let us know how God is blessing you! Please share your comments below.

The American military is changing, adapting somewhat to meet the new tactics of Muslim extremists. The soldier is the most strategic, yet strained part of our military. The display of American technology in our first conflict of this century may have been misleading. Operation Desert Storm was so impressive that most Americans thought we could steamroll over any opponent, especially a third rate power like Iran. But despite the ferocity of our air power and our tanks, we actually didn’t win the war. We succeeded in driving Iraq back within its borders; but, wars are not won until you occupy the opponent’s territory. And, we did not attempt that against Iraq until years later.

The news is old news, really. The high-tech gadgets help; but, it is still the infantry that wins wars. It is amazing to see so many young Americans signing up for military service. They continue the patriotic tradition that has made America great. But even now, our ground forces are often weary. And their task is made harder by enemies that are willing to hide among innocent civilians. The accidental deaths of even a few civilians is trumpeted in the media back here at home.

If the radical Islamists ever get their hands on shaky Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, it will be American civilians who will be in danger. Only ground forces can secure such facilities. Perhaps one of the biggest questions facing the U.S. military is, will we have enough ground forces to secure our future?

This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.

Let us know how God is blessing you! Please share your comments below.

In the first half of the last century, the United States came to the rescue of the free world, even though there was no threat to American soil.  In World War One, the U.S. military’s entrance into the war was the turning point against the Germans. In World War Two again the U.S. came to the aid of it’s allies. Tens of thousands of American soldiers, sailors, marines, air force and coast guard members gave their lives in defense of freedom.

In the second half of the last century, the Korean and Vietnam wars showed that war is changing.  U.S. forces entered the Korean war after the North had pushed it’s forces far inside South Korea.  The only victory was pushing to North Vietnamese back to their side of the border.  Political and perhaps prudent decisions stopped American forces from entering North Korea.  A decade and a half later, despite superior air power,  high tech weapons and more than a half a million U.S. soldiers the United States could not subdue the North Vietnamese and Vietcong.  Finally the U.S. withdrew its troops from Vietnam paving the way for the North Vietnamese to take over the South.

In the current century we fought a controversial war in Iraq.  The final outcome of that effort is not yet clear.  And now we are fighting in Afghanistan, a land that not even the modern Russian army could subdue.  What has changed is that America is fighting a much different foe.  The North Vietnamese used inhumane tactics.  The radical Muslims engaged in those wars have far different values than Americans.  Their tactics are far different because of religious and cultural beliefs. More about how cultural and religious beliefs are changing the face of warfare, tomorrow.

This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.

Let us know how God is blessing you! Please share your comments below.

Did you notice how the officer stood by the back door to make it harder to someone to shoot them? There are almost 700-thousand police officers in the U.S. I think most of our police officers would kind of shrug their shoulders if we told them how much we appreciate them keeping us safe. But they do literally put their lives on the line for us everyday. A routine traffic stop could lead a shoot out. But the most deadly activity for police officers is engaging in a high speed chase.

Nonetheless, last year the fewest number of officers were killed in the line of duty than any other time in 50 years. Craig Floyd, chairman and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund says 2009 casualties were the lowest ever recorded. A total of 125 police died in the line of duty last year, down 7% from the year before.

The main focus of improved police training has now switched to teaching them more about how to handle those high speed chases. That is the most common threat they face. Few will try to have a shoot out with our police, but many more will try to outrun them. In spite of whatever tensions they feel, most officers are polite and some even go out of their way to help people they stop feel at ease.

Craig Floyd says that the numbers really are a classic good news story. When you consider there are three times the number of officers serving today… that makes the numbers even more favorable. So how about a salute and a prayer of thankfulness for the officers that help keep us safe. And if the opportunity presents itself, maybe we could even say thank you to some of them.

This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.

Let us know how God is blessing you! Please share your comments below.

As democrats in Congress and the President continue to push for health care reform, they may have made a very damaging mistake that will put an end to health care reform for now. As of yesterday, doctors treating Medicare and Medicaid patients got a 21% pay cut from Washington. Not only do the cuts affect civilians on Medicare, but it applies to members of the military on the government’s TRICARE program as well.

American Medical Association president, James Rohack, said, “This drastic cut will hurt our senior, disabled, and military patients, as well as baby boomers who start entering the Medicare program next year.” Last Friday, the AMA issued a brusque statement telling the Senate to stop playing games with physicians and seniors.

With this news about huge Medicare cuts, many Americans are going to wonder, don’t you think, how the government can reform the whole health care system when it can’t even figure out how to pay for Medicare. The political climate has changed rapidly too. Polls started showing the President’s numbers going down; and, a recent poll found the vast majority of Americans don’t think Congress is doing a very good job. Couple that with the democrats’ shocking loss of the late Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat to a republican, and the future for many current Senators and House members in the mid-term elections could be in doubt.

Didn’t it appear that the President’s personal priority when he got in the White House was health care reform, while millions of Americans were losing their jobs? The unanswered question is - should the President have focused on jobs first and attempted health care reform later?

This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.

Let us know how God is blessing you! Please share your comments below.

One of the remarkable facts about the current U.S. adult population is the just how many people have been exposed to spiritual teaching as children and teenagers. According to the Barna Research Group more than 8 out of every 10 adults remembers consistently attending Sunday School or some other religious training before the age of 12. Those who recall being involved typically said they were engaged every week. In fact 69% of adults said they attended religious programs weekly.

How does that early faith journey carry over to adulthood? The Barna Research Group found that those who attended Sunday School or other religious programs as children or as teens were much more likely than those without such experiences to attend church and to have an active Christian faith as adults. David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group said that spiritual activity as a young person doesn’t guarantee a person will become a Christian as an adult. He said there are plenty of people raised in the church who turn away from Christ as adults. But he says the research does show that most American adults recall frequent faith activity when they were growing up. And he says the odds are childhood exposure to the gospel greatly increases the chances that as an adult that child will serve Christ.

The Bible does admonish parents to raise up a child in the way they should go and when they are older they will not depart from it. But it is important, don’t you think, that we parents live a consistent Christian life too so the child or children see that it is genuine. And it is a wonderful way of life. Those of us who are, were, or will be parents have a huge responsibility towards our children. Nurturing them in the Lord has to be at the top of our agendas, right?

This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.

Let us know how God is blessing you! Please share your comments below.

A major study across 15 countries and over 34-thousand people, finds getting married is positive for the mental health of both men and women. That equals a reduced risks of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse.  By contrast, ending marriage through separation, divorce or even being widowed, is associated with substantially increased risk of mental health disorders in both men and women.

These are the findings of clinical psychologist Dr. Kate Scott from New Zealand.  Quoting her, “One of the more important findings is that in recent years it has been asserted that marriage is better for men than for women in terms of mental health. This study does not agree with that position.  We found that compared to never getting married, getting married is good for both men and women in terms of most mental health disorders”. So despite the barbs of comedians  marriage really is good for us and now we have this international research to back up what we already knew.

But is that really a surprise, the astronomers and astro-physicists continue to discover that the Bible is right about the creation of the universe and that special status of planet earth. We now have this study that verifies that God’s plan of marriage is good for us.  He created Adam and saw that it would be good for him to have a mate so he created Eve.  And that’s been the normal way of life for most people since.  Unfortunately, in these modern times divorce has become rampant in America, even among Christian couples.  This isn’t God’s plan. So we need to find out what the problem is and fix it.  Impossible?  Nothing is too hard for the Lord.

This is Carl Ramsey and that’s Another View of the News.

Let us know how God is blessing you! Please share your comments below.