Items of Interest

Dear Friends:

There was plenty to keep up with this week. Here are some items you don't want to miss.

The Debt Threat

This article in Fortune, http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/05/retirement/next_crisis_americas_debt.fortune/index.htm, is the best article I've seen--on my layman's level of understanding--on the coming debt spiral that will very likely change the way we live indefinitely. Here's what the author says, "After 2019 the debt rises with no ceiling in sight, according to all major forecasts, driven by the growth of interest and entitlements. The Government Accountability Office estimates that if current policies continue, interest will absorb 30% of all revenues by 2040 and entitlements will consume the rest, leaving nothing for defense, education, or veterans' benefits." He argues that a VAT is probably the inevitable solution, which will take between 10 and 15% more of everyone's money to keep the government solvent. We shouldn't be surprised that this is the solution liberal economists are coming up with. It's how the nanny states of Europe are maintaining their massive entitlement obligations, and many in government and elsewhere seem determined to lead us into a European style of socialism. Back in March, I called for a repeal of the Stimulus Bill. I was gratified to hear Congressman Todd Tiahrt announce this week that he had introduced the "Repeal the Stimulus Act of 2009" to do just that. We must get our nation's spending under control, and we need to do it soon.

The Real Cost of Government-run Health Care

Further pressure on our coming debt spiral can be found in the liberals' determination to create a government-run health care plan. I agree that we need to find a way to make it possible for everyone in the country to obtain health-care insurance if they want it, but asking the government to create a plan for this is like asking a child to guard a candy store. The government does not know the meaning of restraint when it comes to spending other people's money to pay for their projects. Here's the latest projection of the cost of their plan, "Asked whether the cost of a health-care overhaul would be more than $1 trillion over a decade, Rangel said, “the answer is yes.” Some Senate Republicans, including Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, say the costs will likely exceed $1.5 trillion," http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&sid=aqLNecbH0dcg.

Mona Charen has an excellent piece, http://townhall.com/columnists/MonaCharen/2009/06/09/health_care_bill_is_the_ball_game, about the problem with run-away health care costs. It is possible that the plan that will come out of Congress will look a lot like the one Mitt Romney gave Massachusetts. Many people are speaking positively about it, but what they aren't acknowledging is this fact that Mona mentions, "Like every other government health care program, Romney's has vastly exceeded cost projections. Initially projected at $125 million per year, the program actually cost taxpayers $133 million in 2007, $647 million in 2008, $869 million in 2009, and could top $1.1 billion next year." Massachusetts cannot afford their government-run health care plan, but it is being promoted as a model for a national version.

A Real Energy Solution

The drive toward energy independence makes sense. There are plenty of reasons to develop a more responsible national energy policy than the global warming hysteria that has gripped liberals and some conservatives in Congress. Our nation should not be dependent on other nations, many of which do not share our values, in order to assure that we have the energy we need to keep our economy alive and our homes heated. We certainly shouldn't be sending billions of dollars to regimes that deplore our own values and too-often support those determined to destroy us. House Republicans unveiled a superb plan this week to achieve the goal of energy independence. It even includes incentives for alternative energy development. Here is what their plan proposes:

• Increase production of American-made energy in an environmentally-sound manner.
• Promote new, clean and renewable sources of energy such as nuclear, clean-coal-technology, wind and solar energy.
• Encourage greater efficiency and conservation by extending tax incentives for energy efficiency and rewarding development of greater conservation techniques and new energy sources.
• Cut red-tape and reduce frivolous litigation.

We don't need global warming alarmism to move to a more realistic solution to our nation's energy needs. We must move to energy independence because it's in the best interest of our national security and is one of the most effective ways of reducing funds for terrorists around the world. The Republican plan deserves serious consideration. You can read a two-page summary here, http://docs.google.com/a/erlc.com/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=121caacca5ed5ac1&mt=application%2Fpdf. The entire bill is available here, http://docs.google.com/a/erlc.com/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.3&thid=121caacca5ed5ac1&mt=application%2Fpdf.

Common Sense Pushes Back

We are not the only people worried about the direction of our nation. Europeans and others are becoming more concerned about developments in their own countries as well. This article by Bruce Walker, http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/06/09/the_collapsing_global_left_96906.html, describes the growing unrest in many nations and the political shift to the right they are now experiencing. No doubt much of the voter anger in Europe revolves around their growing immigration problems, but the shift to the right will bring in more conservative thinking about other issues as well.

New Compilation of Data Regarding Homosexuality

The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) has produced an analysis of literature to answer three key APA claims about homosexuality. It is entitled "What Research Shows: NARTH's Response to the APA Claims on Homosexuality." Here is what they say a review of the literature reveals:

"In What Research Shows, over a century of experiential evidence, clinical reports, and research evidence demonstrate that it is possible for both men and women to change from homosexuality to heterosexuality; that efforts to change are not generally harmful; and that homosexual men and women do indeed have greater risk factors for medical, psychological and relational pathology than do the general population. Based on our review of 125 years of reports by clinicians, researchers, and former clients, we conclude that reorientation treatment has been shown to be beneficial—and not harmful—and therefore should continue to be available to those who seek it."

We know these things are true. This volume supplies the evidence from research conducted by experts in the field to back it up. The volume is easy to read and filled with references to peer-reviewed literature. I highly recommend that you get a copy. You can order it for $15 from NARTH's web site, Go here, http://www.narth.com/menus/journal.html, for more information and to order it.

Blessings,

Barrett