God's Working

As I walked down Virginia Avenue I thought about where I wanted to eat lunch. Plaza or Rollins? I've gotten a bit sick of Plaza lately, so I was thinking I wanted Rollins. A minute later I found myself en route to Plaza, I had forgotten to keep going to Rollins. I stopped, thought about turning around, but decided to keep on to Plaza and get Rollins for dinner. After I grabbed my food inside i was looking for a place to sit and decided on an area where i have sat maybe three times ever before. I ALWAYS sit toward the drink station in the back and NEVER sit up front by the door. Anyway, as I set my stuff down a woman asked me where I was from and what high school I went to in St. Louis. She was with her husband and son (a junior at Lafayette High) on a college visit. We ended up talking about how general college questions, but more specifically what it's like to be a Christian on campus at Mizzou. I asked her how she pegged me as a person to ask about this and she pointed out I was wearing a St. Louis Cardinals hat, so I was from the same hometown as them, and then that she had prayed to God that they would be able to talk to a Christian while they visited to answer questions. She told me I was the answer to her prayer. I thought for a moment about that and realized how true that statement was. I was in the dining hall that I didn't plan on being at and sat in an area that I never sit in and she so happened to be sitting right next to me looking for a Christian to answer questions. How else can you explain that except as an answer to prayer and God's plan? A mere coincidence it was not.

Health Care: The Socialist Plan v. Rationality

To begin my banter against poor politics, I will begin on the subject of health care. The oh-so-brilliant democrats who are in congress and running for president seem intent on creating a universal health care system free to Americans. John Edwards guaranteed that this would happen if he becomes president. (You know, because someone who lost to John Kerry in the 2004 primary who lost to George Bush is going to beat Hillary and Obama in 2008 primaries and then take down Romney or Giuliani in the Big Boy's Fight. The dream is over Johnny boy.) This could quite possibly be the worst idea in the republic of the USA's entire history. So-called free health care to everyone is called SOCIALISM. That's a french idea. NOT AMERICAN! Beyond that fact it's amazing how democrats get away with calling universal health care FREE. Really? Who's going to pay the doctors? The government. And who pays the government? You and I do! Thus, "Free healthcare" equals higher taxes and the bloated government making decisions as to what kind of treatment you can receive. This kind of system is what Canada uses, but they have huge, long lines to get procedures. So yeah, maybe they found out what's wrong, but they also die waiting to get surgery. Oh, and when you have someone else choosing your healthcare package and paying for it, you inevitably pay MORE than you would with private healthcare. Another problem with universal healthcare-->without having profit as an incentive, doctors will have less incentive to become the best doctors they can be. No competition = poor results. If you aren't afraid someone is going to be a better doctor and is going to take your patients, you have no reason to work hard to be better. So, how about privatized healthcare. Private means YOU CHOOSE! You choose how much you want to pay for. The more you pay for, the more you get. Unfortunately the world isn't foolproof, so people are going to get sick above their healthcare plan level once in a while. However, this problem isn't going to be fixed by universal healthcare. So, a quick recap: Universal-->government chooses. Privatized-->you choose. Universal-->hidden costs are more expensive. Privatized-->costs are less expensive than paying government. Universal-->government has more power. Privatized-->you have more power. The only issue with privatized insurance is that the poor don't have enough money to buy quality insurance. Ok, so give the poorest 10% of Americans vouchers that they can supplement with more of their own money for private healthcare. There it is, socialism defeated for another day.

Time To Rebuke the Socialists. Oops, I mean Democrats

Well, three times a week I sit in my International Relations course and listen to ridiculously poorly informed students who clearly suck in all of the propaganda that mass media floods into America's living rooms via TV. As I watch TV occasionally myself, I frequently get a gag-reflex from something I hear democrats, media members, and even sometimes republicans say. To help myself understand my views better and to help you, my reader, to become a bit more educated, I will begin a series of posts dedicated to rebuking stupid political stances. I am going to begin the unpropagandization of America one post at a time.

Recitatif

In my English 1310 course I was assigned the short story Recitatif by Toni Morrison. The entire story is about two girls, one white and one black, who got to know each other at the age of eight at St. Bonaventure orphanage. Years after they leave the orphanage, they see each other in a diner. Later they see each other in a ritzy grocery store. Even later in life they see each other in a picket line for school integration. Finally, they see each other in a coffee shop soon before Christmas. The most interesting part of this story is that Morrison does not tell which character is white and which is black. However, she makes statements about each character and their mothers that cause the reader to make assumptions on the race of either character. The incredible thing is that these assumptions could easily go either way depending on biased opinions that the reader holds. If you want to reevaluate the way you think about blacks and whites, read this short story. It really is enlightening.

Lyrics' Power

Hey, I haven't blogged in a while, so here I start again. I was listening to the Beatles a few days ago in a friends car. Someone was talking about how great they were and everyone who knew the lyrics (not me) was singing along. This really got me to thinking about how incredibly powerful musicians are. Rather, all musicians have a great deal of power, but only some truly harness it to cause a great effect. John Lennon clearly harnessed the power. He's been dead for decades yet people who weren't even alive when he was alive repeat the words he once wrote as if they are gold. People say this dead man was a genius and they get excited when they hear his words in a song. That is a powerful legacy to leave behind.

Driscoll

Hey, if anyone is looking for some engaging, Biblically based sermons, check out http://www.marshillchurch.org/sermonseries/ . So far I've watched three on Philippians - The Rebel's Guide to Joy - and they were great. He makes great use of video and is actually interesting to listen to.

Bottled Water

Still, the greatest business moment in the history of man has to have been the moment when some guy said, "Hey, let's put water in a plastic bottle and sell it!" Since whenever that moment occurred, dozens of "brands" of water have flooded the marketplace. Only six letters in the alphabet can claim that no water brand begins with it: J,L,Q,U,X,Y are the only letters that are not used to begin the name of a water brand. If you want to feel like you are doing the environment a favor, you can drink ethos water. If you want to feel exotic and tropical, you can drink Fiji water. If you want to feel exclusive and French you can drink Perrier. Honestly, there is a "type" of water for every walk of life. I have even seen MACY'S water (yes, as in a DEPARTMENT STORE) selling for $1.50. What a perfect way to prove the luxury of the West, by PAYING for water.