One more, and I think I'm done. Peggy Noonan, not a hyper-partisan to the say the least, writes a devastatingly clear-headed review of Obama's political failings with respect to health care legislation: In terms of policy, his essential mistake was to choose health-care expansion over health-care reform. This at the exact moment voters were growing more anxious about the cost and reach of government. The practical mistake was that he did not include or envelop congressional Republicans from the outset, but handed the bill's creation over to a Democratic Congress that was becoming a runaway … [Read more...] about Peggy Noonan on Obama Health Care
Archives for March 2010
Dissecting the Real Cost of ObamaCare
It was somewhat convenient that I had to grade exams most of the day when President Obama held his "Health Care Summit." I found Rep. Paul Ryan to be exceptionally incisive and in command of the data. The WSJ published the transcript of his remarks (which left the President totally befuddled). An excerpt:The majority leader said the bill scores as reducing the deficit $131 billion over the next 10 years. First, a little bit about CBO. I work with them every single day—very good people, great professionals. They do their jobs well. But their job is to score what is placed in front of them. … [Read more...] about Dissecting the Real Cost of ObamaCare
Abortion and the President’s Health Care Plan
Charmaine Yoest, President and CEO of Americans United for Life, writes an eviscerating WSJ article about President Obama's mind-boggling pattern of inconsistency on the topic of abortion funding. She briefly traces the history of broken promises, then describes in detail how his current proposal misses the mark. Excerpt: The president's latest proposal mirrors legislation that has passed the Senate, which doesn't include a Hyde Amendment, and would inevitably establish abortion as a fundamental health-care service for the following reasons: • It would change existing law by allowing … [Read more...] about Abortion and the President’s Health Care Plan
David Powlison: The History and Context of the Biblical Counseling Movement
This looks like a fantastic, meaty (432 page) resource for pastors and counselors, and those in training to serve in those vocations. Powlison is highly qualified to write such a book, having (years ago) written a Ph.D. dissertation on Jay Adams and his contribution to the emergence of the biblical counseling movement. If you're not familiar with it, Powlison gives both praise and some constructive critiques of Adams' emphases with regard to the Bible, counseling, and the emotional life in general. Another place to get a good introduction to David Powlison is the three lectures he gave at … [Read more...] about David Powlison: The History and Context of the Biblical Counseling Movement
John Piper on the Consideration of God’s Love
At a chapel message at Westmont College last week John Piper gave a repackaging of an old idea (for him). He explains: I used to ask, How is it loving for God to make so much of himself and do everything for his glory? Now I ask: Why does God reveal his love for us in such a way that it turns out to be for his glory? Or: I used to say: Do you feel more loved when God makes much of you or when he frees you to enjoy making much of him? Now I say, “Why does God make so much of us in a way that winds up making much of him?”Check it out: … [Read more...] about John Piper on the Consideration of God’s Love
The Value of Admitting Mistakes
In my experience, apologizing to a subordinate or customer is one of the most difficult things for a person to do. Matt Perman posts the following excerpt from Jeff Jarvis's book What Would Google Do?: We are ashamed to make mistakes — as well we should be, yes? It’s our job to get things right, right? So when we make mistakes our instinct is to shrink into a ball and wish them away. Correcting errors, though necessary, is embarrassing. But the truth about truth itself is counterintuitive: Corrections do not diminish credibility. Corrections enhance credibility. Standing up and admitting … [Read more...] about The Value of Admitting Mistakes