Mormons

One of the issues of the 2012 Presidential Campaign has been the faith of two of the Republican candidates. Mitt Romney and John Huntsman (yes he's still around) are both Mormons. It is a controversy, yet it also displays a high degree of religious ignorance.
First, are Mormons the members of a cult? Are they Christians or not? These two questions bring up the need for definitions. What is a cult? If we define a cult as a small, highly disciplined religious unit, do the Mormons fit since they have more members than The Episcopal Church? Is a cult a group that is outside the religious mainstream? In 21st century America is there a "religious mainstream"? Are Mormons Christians? Again, it depends on what is one's definition of a Christian. If a Christian is defined simply as someone who believes in God and Jesus then they are Christians. It is when we get more specific about the details that the trouble starts.
A good starting place is the Holy Bible. Joseph Smith (the Prophet) believed that the King James Bible was filled with inaccuracies. This is true. But Smith reedited the Bible to suit his own proclivities. This puts him in the category of Thomas Jefferson who edited the New Testament into something he could believe in. Jefferson and Smith are not alone in this. Since the end of the First Century people have disputed what belongs in the New Testament and what is spurious. There are those who still engage in this today. Orthodox Christianity holds that the Bible is not like the menu in a restaurant, something you pick and choose what you like. That defeats the purpose.
Then we move to the Book of Mormon and other additional texts such as The Pearl of Great Price. Mormons claim that these were additional revelations outside the so-called Orthodox canon. Orthodox Christians call it gnosticism: a special knowledge revealed only to the Chosen.
From this point we can move to some of the revelations received by Joseph Smith and his successors. The most controversial is multiple wives, or polygamy. Now, this alone, in a monogamous society is shocking enough. I learned, while reading Robert Remini's biography of Smith that this practice, in its original intent, was only to be confined to the leaders of the church. Nice deal.
Finally, the general theology of Mormonism must be brought into question. In its outline, it is not that different from other groups that arose in the United States during that period known as the Second Great Awakening. In other words, it is a reaction against rationalism. Mormonism imbibes fully the idea of the personal religious feeling. It is Pelagian to its core.
It would appear, in conclusion, that Mormons are Christians, but with qualifications. They are not Christian by the orthodox definition (neither would Unitarians), yet the American definition (that Jesus is special) they do fit. So, we can say Mormons are not orthodox Christians but they are American Christians. Go figure.

AMR Files for Bankruptcy

One day after I announce this is going weekly, I am compelled to write about the news of the day. AMR, the parent corporation of American Airlines filed for bankruptcy today. Having gone through a corporate bankruptcy 25 years ago, the feelings and memories come back easily.
The first thought is always "will there be a tomorrow?" The answer is always yes, but it won't be the same. Job security in the short term is a given but once the releases begin it seems as though they will never end. Pay will continue but is no longer a long term given. Eventually your job will be downsized or outsourced. The job market is not good. Start looking now for the next job. You will be fortunate if you are given any sort of notice that you are being let go. Especially in today's market, do not expect to find a job with comparable pay. Start downsizing your lifestyle now in the expectation of what is to come.

A Change of Plan

For the last year and a half I have attempted to keep this updated daily. For instant response to news of the day this is great but it ends up reading more like a journal. I want to take this deeper. I want it to be more thought-provoking less reactive. To that end I will be updating this once a week, fewer articles, hopefully more depth.

BCS

It has come down to Alabama and LSU as the two best teams in college football. I should state that I have a vested interest in this, having done graduate work at Alabama. Some say it should not be this way, it should not be a rematch. If that is the case then the whole BCS is invalid. It is supposed to be the two best teams, not a beauty contest. As for those who claim it is unfair that LSU has to play one more game, they're using the floating definition of fair again. It's fair because those were the rule going into this season.

November 22

This is the anniversary of the John Kennedy assassination. A whole generation of Dallasites have had their memories seared by that day. I guess we will all have to pass away before in order to stop the maudlin attitude. There are certain elements in the society of this city to whom the recollection of that day provides some sort of validation. There are the conspiracy theorists whose whole existence is predicated on that event. And then there are those who like to make us all feel guilty about it, which is like the "Bloody Shirt" strategy in politics.

American League MVP 2011

The Texas Rangers are the Rodney Dangerfields of the American League: No Respect at all!
Yesterday, Justin Verlander was named MVP for 2011. As the argument against a pitcher as MVP goes: you're giving the award to someone who only played every five days. A player from the Red Sox finished second. The injustice was done to Michael Young. All he did was finish second in the batting race, was the most consistent player for the American League champions and redefined utility infielder by starting at least ten at all four infield positions plus some games as DH.

More Baseball News

It appears that Major League Baseball knows how to play hardball. There has been a desire for some time to balance the leagues at 15 teams each (which makes the move of Milwaukee to the National League years ago a head scratcher). In order to achieve this balance it was made a condition of sale for the Houston Astros that they move to the American League West. There is a lot to be said for this. The I-45 rivalry begins. As it stands now, the Rangers can use another team in the division to beat up on. But before we get too giddy, remember that the Astros were in the World Series several years ago. If Major League Baseball decided to rename the divisions for people instead of geography (like the NHL used to do) would the American League West, with the addition of the Astros, and already having the Rangers and Angels, become the Nolan Ryan division?

Texas Rangers Hot Stove

Good news for the Rangers, bad news for the Cubs. Yesterday the Cubs announced their new manager would be Dale Sveum. This means Mike Maddux will remain the pitching coach for the Rangers. When one realizes what he has done with that pitching staff, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that he is not leaving for the (other) Windy City.

American League Manager of the Year

Baseball writers are notorious for being one of the last bastions of a "boys club" atmosphere. They have their favorites and they stick with them. Take the voting for American League manager of the year. Now, I will not contest Joe Madden of Tampa as the winner. After all, the man got his team to the playoffs again this year with virtually no star talent. But Jim Leyland as a close second is a joke. He has a great pitching staff, headed by the winner of the American League Cy Young award, Justin Verlander. He has a powerful lineup that includes the American League batting champion. And then, Ron Washington finishes a distant third. Could they still be getting on Wash for his little indiscretion two years ago when he tested positive for a controlled substance?

'Tis the Season part 2

Christmas is forty days away and already several houses have their wreaths, bows and lights up. It is not worth getting angry about anymore. One has to feel pity for these people who have been sold this kool-aid about things buying happiness. That is not what it is about. Now I am not one of those people who go around saying the United States was founded as a Christian nation but it was founded with an understanding and acceptance of Judaeo-Christian ethics. There was something more to life than that old bumper sticker, "He who has the most toys wins."

The Agrarians

They do force all southerners, as well as Americans as a whole. to look closely, and critically, at present institutions. They remind us of what people lost in the transition from a proprietary to a collective economy, even as they provoke moral doubts about the consumptive returns that most, but not all people, gained. In so far as we have accepted the bargain, tacitly consented to the new order, they at least force self-examination and create a sense of guilt. Only the most insensitive and shallow person can listen, really listen, to the Agrarians without a poignant sense of loss. This is true even for those who know all about the dark corners in the proprietary past. -Paul Conkin. The Southern Agrarians. (178)

An Economic Prophet in 1979

The case against government-guaranteed loans and mortgages to private businesses and persons is almost as strong as, though less obvious than, the case against direct government loans and mortgages. The advocates of government-guaranteed mortgages also forget what is being lent is ultimately real capital, which is limited in supply, and that they are helping identified B at the expense of some unidentified A. Government-guaranteed home mortgages, especially when a negligible down payment or no down payment whatever is required, inevitably means more bad loans than otherwise. They force the general taxpayer to subsidize bad risks and to defray the losses. They encourage people to "buy" houses that they really cannot afford. They tend eventually to bring about an oversupply of houses as compared with other things. They temporarily overstimulate building, raising the cost of building for everybody (including the buyers of homes with the guaranteed mortgages), and may mislead the building industry into an eventually costly overexpansion. In brief, in the long run they do not increase the overall national production and encourage malinvestment.
-Henry Hazlitt. Economics in One Lesson (46-47).

'Tis the Season

It all began when Macy's announced they would open at midnight the "day" after Thanksgiving. They were quickly followed by other stores of their caliber. Today I heard that Wal-Mart will open at 10 pm Thanksgiving night. Have to stay one step ahead I suppose. This is the deadly table dance of capitalism unencumbered by morality.
People will gripe about it but they will be there lined up ten deep as sardines in a can to get the best savings on the big ticket items. The local news will interview a woman who has just bought the latest Elmo doll and she will state that her purchase of that toy at 10:30 pm on a Thursday night makes her a "good mother". Next they will interview a man toting a big-screen television and he will proclaim that one can't beat those savings! Actually he could. True savings would come if he didn't buy the item at all and instead used the money to feed the poor. This is all symptomatic of the belief that things can bring true happiness.
If people refused to show up at these insane hours the stores would stop opening in the gloom of night. One can not convince Macy's or Wal-Mart to stop this using moral arguments. For them the bottom line is the finish line. Profit is what matters most. They are just as greedy as the Wall Street nabobs that have led to the Occupy groups.
It will take something more than just telling people to be nice and/or fair. This season presents a God-given opportunity to turn people away from this materialistic frenzy. After all, isn't that the REAL reason for the season?

Economics

The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but the longer effect of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequence of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.
Henry Hazlitt. Economics in One Lesson. (17)

FDR and World War II

The political issues that FDR and Truman launched during the war and postwar recovery have dominated the political arena for two generations, and may persist well into the twenty-first century. But few people have studied the origins and results of these issues. Therefore, we need a deeper understanding of the presidencies of Roosevelt and Truman, and the effects of their programs, if we are to know the best course to follow.- Burton W. Folsom. FDR Goes to War. (2011)(p. 312)

Bank Transfer Day

Tomorrow is "Bank Transfer Day" and reportedly, in advance of this, 650,000 people have transferred their money into Credit Union accounts. I saw this happening myself as I went to my Credit Union this morning and witnessed two people opening new accounts. I think this is a great idea. People should shop their money to where they can get the best deal. This could result in some lower banker salaries. But I also agree that the regulations instituted in the last three years were an over-reaction to 2008.

The Newest Conspiracy Paranoia

Next Tuesday, at 1 pm CST, the FCC is running a complete test of the Emergency Broadcast System. As the press release states, for a period of up to three and a half minutes, the government will take over all the airwaves. Suppose they don't give it back?

Walker Percy

Culturally speaking, our posture is something like the cat in the cartoon who ran off the cliff and found himself standing up in the air. Maybe he can get back to earth by backing up: on the other hand, he might be in for a radical change of perspective.
-"The Culture Critics" in Signposts in a Strange Land (270)