A Forgotten History Lesson

U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris told a religious journal that separation of church and state is “a lie” and God and the nation’s founding fathers did not intend the country be “a nation of secular laws.” The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate also said that if Christians are not elected, politicians will “legislate sin,” including abortion and gay marriage. Harris made the comments — which she clarified Saturday — in the Florida Baptist Witness, the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist State Convention, which interviewed political candidates and asked them about religion and their positions on issues. Separation of church and state is “a lie we have been told,” Harris said in the interview, published Thursday, saying separating religion and politics is “wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers.”

Such comments are very disturbing when one reviews the history of the United States, in particular, the history of it founding fathers. When founding fathers Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, both of whom were agnostic met with John Adams and the other members of the Declaration committee to decide who would write the Declaration of Independence they did not think of religion. When James Madison who had loose religious ties through his wife wrote the majority of the Constitution he too was not thinking of making laws that were secular or “Christian” rather laws that would help his country survive.

The idea of Separation of church and state came from the very vivid, very real memory of their heritage. The theocracy of Puritan Virginia and Dutch New York as well as the civil war in the mother country (England) that produced the “protectorate” of Oliver Cromwell that when he died the very leaders who had killed King Charles I asked his son Charles II to come back to England and assume the throne. With this recent and real heritage of religious strife, our founding fathers found ways to legislate that protected the religious freedoms of those who wished to practice their beliefs with laws that protected religion from the state. In doing so, the State would be protected against, at times, an over zealous religion (Protestantism). This is an important concept forgotten and more often than not only considered in one context. Our founding fathers wanted to protect religion from the state and the state from religion in equal measure. Ms. Harris and her comments represent exactly what America’s founding fathers feared the most and tried in the Separation of church and state to avoid at all costs.

A Looming Question?

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said today he would not have ordered the capture of two Israeli soldiers if he had known it would lead to such a war. According to an interview on Lebanese TV and reported by the BBC, Nasrallah said, “Had we known that the kidnapping of the soldiers would have led to this, we would definitely not have done it.”

With more than 1,000 Lebanese dead in the 34-day conflict and much of southern Lebanon in ruins the looming question is how will the Lebanese people respond? The destruction of their country at the hands of Israel was prompted by the actions of a group (Hezbollah) that was supposed to protect and defend them. Such an omission on national television by Nasrallah sends a signal that some public backlash has already occurred and such an appearance was made in the hope to forestall potentially more extensive anti-Hezbollah sentiment to grow.

A recent international magazine cover had Nasrallah with the title of victor in the most recent conflict (battle) against Israel. The bigger question is who has won the larger war in public opinion. True, much of the Arab world publicly sided with Lebanon, including tacit (Jordan) to blatant (Iran) support of Hezbollah and against Israel, ergo the United States but what of the Lebanese themselves? This the world will have to wait and see.

Bush’s Hallow Rhetoric

President Bush has again promised that the government will learn from mistakes made during Hurricane Katrina. This was made in his weekly radio address to the nation as he mentioned how the disaster exposed deep-seated poverty and a lack of readiness to deal with the crisis. Moreover, he said disaster response would improve and committed $110bn to rebuilding New Orleans and other affected areas.

The president made such remarks because next week Tuesday is the first year anniversary of the disaster where more than 1,000 people were killed when the hurricane struck the Gulf Coast of the US almost a year ago. But his words are close to being considered more than just hallow, but callous as well. Fewer than 200,000 of the original half-million inhabitants have returned to their ruined homes.

Katrina revealed that federal, state and local governments were unprepared to respond to such an extraordinary disaster. How will it respond to a biological attack from our enemies? Katrina also exposed a deep-seated poverty that has cut people off from the opportunities of their country. Where are the educational monies, small business loans, basic social services that will help our citizens living in the Gulf Coast obtain such opportunities?

As a year will mark the tragedy all the government and our president has to say is more words. The president said that this work would require the sustained commitment of our government, the generosity and compassion of the American people, and the talent and vision of people determined to restore their homes, neighborhoods and cities. For the people living in the Gulf Coast such rhetoric has long ago turned hallow. They want action!

Serious Talks

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, has said his country is ready to start “serious talks” with six world powers on Wednesday. Iran submitted a written response to the demand by the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany to suspend uranium enrichment.
Iran denies Western claims that it is developing a nuclear weapons program, maintaining that it has a right to civilian nuclear technology. Supreme leader Ali Khamenei made it clear on Monday that Iran would reject international pressure.

The US, UK, Russia, China, France and Germany have offered Iran a package of incentives – including the offer of help with civilian nuclear technology. The details of Tehran’s written response have not been made public, but Iranian officials previously have said their response would address ambiguities over its right to nuclear technology.

It is well known that enriched uranium is used as fuel for nuclear reactors, but highly enriched uranium can also be used to make nuclear bombs. Iran points out that as a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) it is entitled to a nuclear power program and says it has broken no rule though Western powers accuse Iran of concealing an enrichment program, and Washington has refused to rule out military action.

That Iran is “talking” to the West is a good thing. It is important and the Bush Administration with its UN Security Council allies should engage Iran. It has been maintained in prior posts the importance and support of active engagement of Iran. Iran does deserve the right to a nuclear power program and the West must support this. If not, the reaction might be the very accusations currently being made by the West.

A Salute To Science

After watching the highly entertaining, yet disturbing independent film Side Effects this past weekend a silent laugh could be heard after reading the headline. However, upon reading the story a salute to science is in order.

An experimental HIV drug won’t cure the disease but could be an important tool in managing infection, especially in patients who have developed resistance to existing medications.Anti-viral drugs called protease inhibitors have been the gold standard for treating HIV since the mid-1990s, but the virus is becoming increasingly resistant.

The existing combination of pills also produces side effects such as problems with cholesterol or blood fat, as well as problems with body shape and the distribution of fat.
U.S. researchers reported the early results of a trial that randomly compared a new class of drugs to protease inhibitors at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto last Thursday.”At 25 weeks, approximately 85 to 95 per cent of the patients had viral loads that were below the level of detection,” said Dr. Martin Markowitz, a professor at Rockefeller University in New York who presented the trial findings. The compound, known as MK-0158, was tested in 198 people who recently began treatment. Existing drugs interfere with how HIV copies its genetic material once it enters a cell or with how the genetic material gets expressed after it enters human chromosomes — two of the three steps the virus must complete.

The new class of drugs, called integrase inhibitors, stops the genetic material’s ability to integrate with the host chromosome. Doctors at the conference were excited about the potential of the new class of drugs, but caution it could be months before the drugs are ready to go to Health Canada or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval.This is excellent news in the on-going fight against this horrible disease. The question now is after the trial, how long before the FDA will approve these new drugs and how much will they cost?

Bed & Breakfast treat

If one has never had the chance to stay at a Bed & Breakfast I highly recommend the experience.

After a stressful month and a half, I knew that my wife and I needed to get away. Our new apartment is nice and the little time we have spent in it has produced the feeling of an “almost on vacation” mentality the past two weekends. However, we have still been at home.

So it was with that in mind that this weekend, I secretly packed our bags on Friday and after picking my wife up from work we sped away to our cozy room at the Covington Manor. Covington is a lovely B&B in the rural village of Cambridge, WI. The stay was wonderful: relaxing with excellent conversations with other guests and the best french toast and blueberry jam I have ever tasted.

NSA Program Illegal

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor struck down the NSA program, saying it violates the rights to free speech and privacy. Furthermore, she declared that the program “violates the separation of powers doctrine, the Administrative Procedures Act, the First and Fourth amendments to the United States Constitution, the FISA and Title III.”
Her ruling went on to say that “the president of the United States … has undisputedly violated the Fourth in failing to procure judicial orders.”

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the Bush Administration disagrees with the ruling and has appealed. “We also believe very strongly that the program is lawful,” he said in Washington, adding that the program is “reviewed periodically” by lawyers to determine its effectiveness and ensure lawfulness.

When this dispute first occurred a question asked but not with sufficient closure was the Bush Administration had not followed the very procedures it is now held to violate? In the post 9/11 blitz to approve national defense and military operations such a request would have been granted. If the Administration was sensitive about time delays it is probable that such approval would have been rushed and with little to no opposition, the president would have received what he had wanted.

What the United States and “the West” is fighting for in this War on Terror is the very civil liberties that Judge Taylor upheld. The idea that the people who govern are answerable to those they govern and not the other way around. The battles fought daily in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as on the Internet through hundreds of blogs is over ideas. Yes, people are dying, but people have been dying for ideas in time memoriam.

The best way for the Bush Administration to show our enemies that America is the “land of the free” is to accept the ruling. The president can still go to Congress and ask for such authority and with Republicans, controlling Congress, the Administration might have a better chance there than with activist judges.

The State Of Our Financial Union

Historical cycles are funny things. They can help act as warnings as well as predict future events to a lesser degree. Lately, the 1920s and the late 1970s through the 80s have been coming to my mind a lot. The report today from the Congressional Budget Office gave me pause to reflect upon those two periods once again.

The CBO said it expects slower economic growth next year, with gross domestic product rising by a projected 3 percent in 2007, compared with 3.5 percent this year. This latest economic forecast was part of an updated budget outlook. The report shows CBO expects slightly slower growth next year than it had projected in March, when it saw the economy growing by 3.4 percent in 2007, taking out the effect of inflation.

The CBO also predicted that the U.S. budget deficit would rise to $286 billion in fiscal 2007, up from this year’s $260 billion projected deficit. The CBO’s fiscal 2007 deficit projection was higher than the $265 billion it projected in March. CBO’s projections for inflation, minus volatile energy and food prices, are higher than its March report. The CBO said it expects core consumer prices to rise by 2.6 percent in 2006 and 2.5 percent in 2007.

Consumer prices including energy and food are projected to rise by 3.5 percent in 2006 and 2.5 percent in 2007. CBO also said the general fiscal outlook remained unchanged for the coming decade. This is not necessarily good news for Republicans this fall, especially with the president hoping for an opportunity to present his case on tax cut permanency, while other Republican candidates attempt to forgot their voting support for the president. This is also not really good news for Democrats who have yet to come up with solid opposition policies that are substantial in substance rather than Republican lite. The consumer prices will rise by 3.7 percent I predict if the price of crude oil rises and diplomacy fails with Iran. This is not wild speculation on my part, but real possibility. The other real possibility is that the amount of individual debt will increase by 2 percent. The American quality to spend money and our levels of personal debt are two large problems. Unfortunately world events and certain politicians have enlivened this quality. If we are not careful, history will repeat itself.

To Live Life

A funeral is an opportunity to conduct introspection. Surrounded by family and friends the berived are enabled to look upon the life lost in a new light–to see how their loved one had affected other peoples lives for the better. Often, the words spoken, but more often than not those unspoken are the true testiments to the life of the deceased.

Today at the funeral, reflection upon life, mine, as well as my uncle’s took place and I must admit that it was a good part of the healing process.

To truly live life to the fullest is something not many do. To attempt to do so is important and each attempt helps us eventually succeed. This is something that I took away today and wished to pass along. With all the sadness and fear this is something important to remember.

Cease-fire Holding, Barely

It is too early to say who “won” the war over southern Lebanon because, despite a ceasefire, the fighting might not be over. Beyond that, the political and military structures that might prevent a future conflict have yet to be put in place. For if such structures—removal of Hezbollah from south of the Litani River and removal of Israeli forces altogether, extension of Lebanese government authority and army in the south, insertion of major international force—are successful, then Israel would be able to claim a victory of sorts. Hezbollah would not have been crushed but it might have been contained.

However, the potential for a prolonged and messy guerrilla war looms large, especially with the current ceasefire just barely holding. If the ceasefire breaks down and a guerrilla war happens, Israel will have lost. There is still hope for the ceasefire holding and hope for peace. It is interesting though that the Israeli soldiers kidnapped have largely been forgotten in the violence and Hamas has become nonexistent.