Debate winners and losers, including CNN and Fox

Debate Winners & Losers, Including CNN and Fox

The View from the Middle

Let me give you a very top line winner from yesterday’s debates and that was the American people.  15 of the 16 candidates came across as knowledgeable and articulate with a firm grasp on the issues.  They may have differed in approach at times, but even the stances I disagreed with were thoughtful and sound.  This did encourage me as to the strength of the bench in the Republican Party.

For those who weren’t willing to invest four hours to catch the undercard debate, the real winner was Lindsey Graham.  He was articulate and humorous, like when he suggested they would do more drinking in the White House if he were President, using Tip O’Neil and Ronald Reagan as a model.  But also, his message was clear and concise.  We need to kick ISIS’s butt no matter what it takes or else they will be here soon.  I’m not sure if this performance was enough to elevate him to the main event next time, but I think he was the clear winner of the early session.

In my opinion, Chris Christie was the winner of the main event.  He was tough but humorous and quick on his feet.  His line that Ben Carson “must have been talking about some of the other guys” when Ben questioned the motives of career politicians was classic and delivered with a smile.  He did have a theme thoughout that started in the very beginning.  He said this debate was not about him or any of the other candidates, but about the American people, and I liked that.

Carly Fiorina put in another solid performance.  Her grasp of the issues is impressive, and I love her drumbeat that government is too big, too corrupt, too inefficient, too complicated and it is crushing the average American.  Her connection of the Iran nuclear deal and government support of Planned Parenthood was very effective.  She said the Iran deal is about the defense of the security of this country and eliminating support for Planned Parenthood is about the defense of the character of this country.  She also challenged Hillary and Obama, very emotionally, to watch those videos and defend their support of Planned Parenthood funding.

The support for Donald Trump still mystifies me.  If his words had come out of any other candidate’s mouth, it would have been considered an implosion and probably the end of that candidate’s Presidential aspirations.  His personal attacks on Rand Paul, Jeb Bush (and George W), Governor Pataki, et al, are childish and impudent, and his knowledge of this issues is thin at best.  Despite all this, most people think that he won the debate.  I’m not a Trump hater or lover, but if I’m honest with myself, his performance last night was mediocre at best.

The biggest loser was CNN.  They made the debate way too long because they could sell the advertising and not because it was the best thing for the candidates or the American people.  They also tried to turn the debate into a Jerry Springer style slugfest by pitting the candidates against each other at every opportunity.  Thankfully, the candidates resisted more often than not.  Finally, because of their planned format they lost control of the event quite often and annoyingly interrupted the candidates when they felt their time was up.  Annoying being the key word.

The final loser this morning was Fox News as they tried to criticize CNN for doing exactly what they did in the last debate.  Generally, I’m a fan of Fox, but I have to call them out when they are out of line, and trust me, they did no better job in the last debate than CNN did last night!!

PS to the Bernie Sanders Bible study

PS to the Bernie Sanders Bible Study Lesson

The View from the Middle

A friend of mine reminded me yesterday that there are many more areas where the Bible does not support Mr. Sanders ideology.  For example, given verses like Jeremiah 1:5 (Before I was formed in the womb, God knew me) and Psalm 139:13 (He created my inmost being; He knit me together in my mother’s womb) I doubt God would approve of partial-birth abortion. 

Bernie, read the whole book – through God’s eyes instead of distorting it with the lens of your personal ideological agenda.

Bernie Sanders Quotes the Bible

Bernie Sanders Quotes Bible to Support Socialism?

The View from the Middle

On Monday, Bernie Sanders took a bold move and went to Liberty University to give a campaign speech, and I have to give him some kudos for that.  But then he went a step too far, in my opinion, by quoting the bible to support his socialist ideology.  He quoted Matthew 7:12, which most of us are familiar with – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

I would argue that this verse does not suggest that everyone will or should have equal outcomes or free everything.  I would argue that God is in favor of equal opportunity and then encourages people to make good decisions, for He also suggests that we will live with the consequences of our decisions, good or bad!

Bernie’s big mistake, however, is to open up the Bible in the first place to support his positions.  Once you open the Good Book, you have to accept all of its wisdom, not just an “out of context” verse here or there that makes you feel good. 

For example, the Bible also says that debt is a curse, and Proverbs 22:7 says, “As the rich rule over the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender.”  So how does Bernie rationalize our current debt of almost $19 trillion, and how does he plan to pay for his plan that some estimate will cost an additional $18 trillion?  That doesn’t sound like a Godly plan to me.

God is also a very generous God, but he is not in favor of a free lunch for everyone.  In 2^nd Thessalonians 3:10 it says, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”  God suggests that many times we put ourselves in these bad situations because we have made poor decisions.  In Proverbs 6:6 it says, “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.  She prepares her bread in the summer and gathers her food in harvest.”

Here He is saying to be wise and make good decisions.  Think ahead.  Don’t goof off in school and then drop out.  Don’t get pregnant (or get a girl pregnant) in High School.  Don’t do drugs, and the list goes on.  God is saying that we cannot avoid the consequences of our decisions, so make good ones!!

God even suggests that we should invest our money wisely and that profiting from those investments is a good thing.  Remember the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30.   For the two servants who doubled their money, God’s response was, “Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.  Enter into the joy of your master.”

So to Bernie, I would say to be careful where you look to support your agenda.  God is clearly not a socialist, but, if anything, a compassionate conservative.   He would probably agree with the refrigerator magnet that my wife put up a few years ago which says, “Don’t pray for an easy life (full of free things like college educations, and healthcare, and guaranteed things like jobs and houses and cars), pray for strong character!!”

THAT is my wish for all people!

Solar Power, Climate Change, Energy - here's an oldie but a goody.

Solar Power – Not Ready for Prime Time

The View from the Middle

Before I layout the problems with the solar industry today, let me say that I am a huge believer in the long-term potential of the sun to supply power to the world.  The sun is a powerful and dependable source of energy when we figure out how to harness that power effectively and efficiently.  By most estimates, the sun will continue to shine for another five to seven billion years after which time we will have bigger issues than converting its power to useable forms.  Also, according to a study done in 2002, the sun delivers more energy in an hour than the world consumes in a year.  If the sun is so powerful and reliable, why does it deliver less than 1% of the US energy needs?  The answer is – it is not cost effective, yet!

So, what makes solar power so impractical right now?  First, It isn’t very efficient in terms of capturing the sun’s power and converting it into electrical energy.  The best solar panels are only about 17% efficient in converting the sun’s energy into electricity.  Second, it can cost $25,000 to $35,000 to install a solar energy system in an average house in the US.  Even after considering the incentives, there is a 20 to 30 year pay out on this investment, which is longer than the average time of home ownership. 

This brings us to the final straw that breaks solar power backs.  The only thing that makes this energy even remotely reasonable is the subsidies that this industry is receiving throughout the world.  Whether it is the feed-in-tariffs in Germany or the tax credits in the United States or loan guarantees in China this industry receives way more support than it deserves.  This indicates that on its own it can’t deliver two things that are essential for any successful business in the United States – an effective, competitive product and a profit. 

Solar energy is at least four times more costly than energy produced by fossil fuels.  This is why governments around the world have to force people to buy it in order to prop it up.  Next, the financials just don’t add up.  The entire global revenue for solar panels is only about $64 billion today and will probably only reach $65 billion by 2016 because of falling prices, yet China alone spent $33 billion in 2010 on solar loans.  This is why Germany, the top producer of solar power in the world by far, is planning to cut subsidies and phase out support completely over the next five years.

So, what kind of energy policy should we be pursuing in the US that would be appropriate for today AND for the future.  First, we should stop subsidizing all energy industries.   We just don’t have the money.  I agree that we should stop all tax breaks and subsidies for our oil companies, but I also would suggest that we should do the same for wind, solar and ethanol.  Save the money and let the free market go to work.  Second, if China is practically giving their solar products away, we should buy them and tax the heck out of them as they come into the US.  This would raise the costs of their solar equipment to market supported prices allowing American companies to compete fairly for that business and help us balance our federal budget at the same time.  Thanks, China!  Third, our government should support research in all kinds of renewable energy sources through our universities and agencies like NASA to find real cost efficient answers to our energy needs.  We can do this for a fraction of the cost of our current subsidy approach to this industry.  Then, in ten to twenty years we can absolutely dominate a newly created and profitable solar industry with products that make the Chinese solar panels obsolete.

Until then, however, we need to take advantage of the resources God has blessed this country with.  The US is the most energy rich country in the world.  We have more coal than Saudi Arabia has oil.  We have more oil than all of the Middle East countries combined and natural gas may be our most abundant resource.  In fact, we could supply all of our own needs for hundreds if not a thousand years depending on which projection you believe.  The point is – we are loaded!  We should work “with” not “for” environmentalists to drill and dig here and now while we develop our wind, solar and other renewable energy sources for the future.  The side benefit of this approach is that it will take money out of the pockets of our enemies around the world and employ hundreds of thousands of Americans who are looking for jobs right now.  THIS is the real “all of the above” energy strategy that we need.

Political Correctness gone Amuck

Political Correctness or Absurdity

The View from the Middle

I think we may have finally seen the absolute height or depth (depending on your perspective) of political correctness or absurdity.  I was watching ESPN over the weekend when a special came on honoring a 12-year-old boy for publicly declaring that he was gay.  

Braeden Lange (the 12-year-old in question) plays Lacrosse and Andrew Goldstein, the first openly gay Lacrosse player, organized a tournament in the Braeden’s honor.  Andrew, of course, put his arm around the youngster and praised him for his courage in embracing his identity.

Remember, this kid is 12 years old.  Has he even had a homosexual experience, or any sexual experience at all? If he is like many other 12-year-olds, he is probably enjoying the attention and I hope that has nothing to do his recent epiphany.  But I certainly wouldn’t be shocked if, in the end, that was the case.

I understand that he was bullied after he “came out” with his sexual orientation.  That’s the negative side of the attention he is getting, but now are we going to put every victim of bullying on national TV and throw tournaments for them?   There are other ways to address bullying without applying so much pressure to a young, conflicted boy at a very pliable time of his life.

Has the gay community become so desperate for attention that they have to pounce on every child, at the most volatile time in their lives, to validate their position?  Should we be elevating anyone above others just because of their sexual preference?  And for this particular 12-year-old only time will tell. 

I’m not in favor of prejudice against anyone because of the color of their skin or their faith or even for their sexual orientation.  I’m also not in favor of changing the definition of marriage, but I’m not opposed to gay couples uniting.  Just call it something else.  They should receive all the same benefits of heterosexual couples, but we can call it “civil unions” or whatever.  And that’s not even a deal breaker for me.  If the world decided to call gay unions “marriage”, I’m not going to jump off a cliff.

But on the flip side, should we really reward young people for a choice that the gay community insists is normal.  And shouldn’t the LGBT community wait until a person can at least make an informed decision before we put them on a national public pedestal?  So, to Andrew Goldstein and ESPN I ask – are you really doing all of this for Braeden?  Let’s check back with him in 10 years or so.