Even if an i-phone was within my budget…

I don’t think I’d ever buy one now. From Market-ticker:

“We shouldn’t be criticized for using Chinese workers,” a current Apple executive said. “The U.S. has stopped producing people with the skills we need.”

“What Apple (and other companies) want are employees that are housed in dormitories, can be roused at midnight to work a 12-hour shift on demand fueled with only a cup of tea and a ten cent biscuit, paying them $17/day.

THAT is what Apple and these other firms demand.

It is absolutely true that America cannot fill that demand, because at one dollar an hour you can’t manage to put the food on your table for a family of four, say much less pay rent, electricity or gasoline for your car to get there and back!”

“We sell iPhones in over a hundred countries,” a current Apple executive said. “We don’t have an obligation to solve America’s problems. Our only obligation is making the best product possible.”

“That’s absolutely true.  But America remains a monstrously-large market and America has no obligation to let you bring products into this nation without tariff or impost while you exploit the existence of authoritarian governments and environmental arbitrage.

A 100% tariff on all of Apple’s foreign-produced or assembled products should make the decision easy — is this really about the availability of a workforce, in which case it would not matter to Apple, or is it really about state-sponsored enslavement and exploitation?”

You really should read the whole thing. It really drives home what our materialistic lifestyle costs; not only in terms of our own quality of life and our national and personal debt crises, but around the world.

I know, it’s capitalism. The free market. The American way, and all that good stuff. Except that it’s China where the workers have far fewer options, so spare me.

This post, almost in its entirety, was poached from Alte.

What The…???

I have come to understand how unprincipled the Christian electorate in America is. That’s not a self-righteous rant either. I had to do some serious soul searching myself after pulling the lever for McCain-Palin in 2008. We in this house have determined not to do that again. Apparently not many believers have been so enlightened.

After seeing the rousing applause New Gingrich inspired during the S.Carolina debate, I wasn’t surprised he made a strong showing in the primary there. I was not however, expecting this. From ABC:

The former House speaker dominated in the socially conservative northwest portion of South Carolina, Huckabee’s stronghold in 2008.

Despite Rick Santorum’s continued play for the socially conservative, family-values vote, exit polls showed Gingrich dominating statewide among “very conservative” voters, tea-party supporters, voters who say abortion should be illegal in all cases, and white evangelical or born-again Christians. Gingrich took Greenville, South Carolina’s northwestern bellwether county, 40 percent to Romney’s 25 percent and Santorum’s 18 percent.

I can’t believe this, but I agree with the Op-Ed writer at the LA Times.

They converge upon our state this week. Ron Paul isn’t campaigning here very heavily as it’s a “winner takes all” state.  There are two debates scheduled before the January 31st primary. Two opportunities for Newt to work his Jedi mind trick on the so-called “more informed” conservative electorate. Let the games begin.

I knew you were waiting with breathless anticipation for my analysis and I did not want to disappoint.

And Then There Were Four…

As the once crowded field of GOP presidential contenders further dwindles, I wonder if the extra space on the stage during tonight’s debate will serve as a distraction to those who have watched the previous debates. Only Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich remain.

John Huntsman has withdrawn and thrown his support behind Mitt Romney. No surprises there.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has suspended his campaign and thrown his support behind Newt Gingrich. Somewhat surprising?

Gingrich’s second wife Marianne has an interview scheduled to air on ABC’s Nightline tonight. From where I sit, what we know about Gingrich’s marital behavior is more than enough to turn off anyone who considers private integrity something to be considered at the ballot box. Despite what we know, Gingrich is still polling well enough in South Carolina to keep going. I figured if there was any place his track record would damage him, it would be a Bible belt state. Apparently I was wrong which actually makes this whole thing all the more intriguing.

In rather surprising news, it seems that the declaration of a Romney win in Iowa’s caucuses was a bit premature. Recounts are suggesting that Santorum may have won Iowa after all. I guess we’ll have to stay tuned to get the final score in that contest.

Voddie Baucham has weighed in to share why he supports Ron Paul. I think it’s worth a read. I have a great respect for the integrity of his ministry and thought his article provided much food for thought.

I found this article from another Christian minister sharing his reservations about Christian support for Ron Paul’s candidacy at Cindy’s blog.  She also posted her personal thoughts on Paul’s candidacy and his growing support among conservative Christians. Again, worth a read. I think it’s good to contemplate both sides of an issue.

As for me, I shared recently on another forum that I was already asking my husband to consider the notion that we may not want to cast a ballot for president this year. At the very least, that he excuse me from casting one since I usually use my vote to add more support to whomever he has decided is worth his.

I find all this very entertaining. I fully admit that. I like politics for its own sake. However I increasingly find myself  feeling the way Laura feels about saving the country.

Whatever will be will be, and I would do better to pin my hopes on something Higher.

Someone Said…(On Accumulating Stuff)

My friend Heather often posts in a format that speaks to me and I have decided to join her and balance conventional wisdom (those things we have often come to accept as true), against what the Bible has to say on the subject.Today’s topic is our addiction to stuff.

“He who dies with the most toys wins”~ Author unknown

“Don’t own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire.”~Wendell Berry

The second quote above actually speaks to the truth this post aims to articulate:

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹ for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” ~Matthew 6:20-21

” For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?”~Mark 8:36

I have often found myself increasingly frustrated in my attempts to purge my home of things that we have accumulated that have no lasting value or use. And someone almost always protests a thing that makes it on to my discard list. Of course, there are always things that I hold dear that never make the list.

We Americans and our stuff. It controls so much of our life and dominates so much of our time (cleaning, organizing, storing, arranging). We would do well to recall what Solomon said. He knew a bit about the ultimate value of stuff:

” Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me.  And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have  control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity.”~ King Solomon, Ecclesiastes 2: 18-19

And the Winner Is…Yawn

Mitt Romney won the Iowa caucuses  by 8 votes. Yippee! Rick Santorum, whom I like on the life issues and dislike on his hawkish foreign policy, came in second.

While I’m not yet quite as pessimistic as Hawaiian Libertarian on the matter of voting for the lesser of two evils, I am very very close to it. Maybe he isn’t pessimistic, just realistic?

It’s all vanity I’m beginning to believe. We will get the government we deserve. The end.

Happy New Year

I think I mentioned last year that I have largely sworn off New Years’ Resolutions. I have found them to be more a stumbling block than a motivation in many cases. If there is something I need to do or change and I take note of it in November, then I believe I have a responsibility to make the changes I should in November. Still, I do have a few goals for myself that I hope to accomplish in 2012 even as I began working toward them in 2011:

~I already had our cable television subscription turned off. I know that’s not a major thing to most of the people who read here but Discovery, Food Network, and DIY have been the inspiration of many projects and delicacies in this house.

~I am taking a few sewing classes at the start of this year. I have been attempting to teach myself to sew for the better part of a year now and rectangular objects have long ceased to satisfy my creative bug.

~It’s no secret around these parts that I have a heart for fathers, who are largely forgotten in Western culture. I have decided this year to plan an all out bash for the men in our family and immediate circle of friends for father’s day. My daughter has already begun the planning process. We want to honor the fathers we love in a way that most men never experience on Father’s day. I’m talking about a party that yes, will take 6 months to plan. That big.

~I need to expand my quest for good health. I was satisfied with having lost the excess weight I’d been carrying for three years after the birth of Sweetie Pie. Now I want to improve my health in ways beyond my dress size. The goal is to be stronger and have more endurance to accomplish the many tasks I have to accomplish.

~SAM and I have set a few financial goals that are going to require a level of discipline and sacrifice that we’ve never undertaken before. But we’re up to the challenge.

~Refining the homeschool schedule. This has been such an uphill battle. Balancing the needs of the older with the younger has never ceased to be a challenge. Some weeks are better than others but I’m learning to just be happy that they’re learning.

~And as always and at all times, I am striving and praying for a heart that is continuously being changed and transformed to something my heavenly Father is pleased with.

The thing about all of this is that I began planning or working on most of it during the last quarter of 2011. I did  that precisely because I knew how easy it would be to put it off until the New Year.  Or maybe because it takes me 15 months to accomplish what most of you can achieve in 12. I can be slow like that.

For those of you who have set some goals for the New Year, I’d love to hear what those are and encourage you in your quest. What are your goals for the New Year?

Oh yes, and may the Lord bless you with a healthy and Prosperous 2012!

Calling All Gardeners (Advice Request)

I’m a little behind this year preparing for my spring gardening. This is because I am choosing to forgo the quick run to Lowe’s or Home Depot to buy my starter seeds.

Because seeds are so often tampered with via GMO technology, I am on a search for the best and most reasonably priced store or website where I can buy seeds for my spring planting. I will be doing some of my own research, and have already begun in fact. However, experience has taught me that there is a wealth of valuable information to be gleaned from the small number of people who read this blog.

Therefore, I am sending out an all call to those of you who garden: Where can I find good seeds at a reasonable price? Help me out here!

No, It’s Not A Christmas Carol

But it is one of my new favorite songs. I do believe that this is a season that reminds us of God so loving the world that He gave His only begotten Son. And we are called to love others the way He has loved us. With that thought, I decided share this with you all and wish you a Merry Christmas!

Others, by Israel Houghton

I see the state of the world and it grieves me
I hear the cries of the broken of the rich and poor
Smell the fear of disease all around me now
I feel responsible now that I see
‘Cause we all approve to live for more than this
More than this

So I want to love like love
Love like you love want to love others
The way you love me
So I want to love like love
Love like you love want to love others
The way you love me

I’ve held the children unseen and they move me
I wonder what I can do to improve a thousand lives
I feel the absence of love and it scares me
I feel responsible now that I see
‘Cause we all were born to live for more than this
So much more than this

So I want love like you love
Love like you love, want to love others
The way you love me

I’ve was that lost so that have been rescued
I was the orphaned hat you adopted and brought into your home
I was the, the equated with the hopelessness
That was living in the streets, that was me

Now I’m gonna love like you love
Love like you love, help me love others
The way you love me

I’m gonna forgive, how you forgave
And rescue you have saved
Others, others, others, others, others

The way you love me, the way you love me
You first loved me, that’s why I love you
‘Cause you first loved me
Yeah, you first loved me

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NASB)

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13;24-25 (NASB)

Merry Christmas!

You May Need to Leave the Cell Phone at Home

I rarely leave home without my cell phone. When I do, it’s by mistake. But that may have to change if my state implements a new safety recommendation offered by the federal regulatory group, the NTSB:

A federal safety board called Tuesday for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones and text messaging devices while driving.

The recommendation is the most far-reaching yet by the National Transportation Safety Board, which in the past 10 years has increasingly sought to limit the use of portable electronic devices — recommending bans for novice drivers, school bus drivers and commercial truckers. Tuesday’s recommendation, if adopted by states, would outlaw non-emergency phone calls and texting by operators of every vehicle on the road.

It would apply to hands-free as well as hand-held devices, but devices installed in the vehicle by the manufacturer would be allowed, the NTSB said.

The recommendation would not affect passengers’ rights to use such devices.

Given that most cars more than 5 years old come without built in phone capabilities, this would leave most drivers without the option of taking or making a call while in their vehicles. Personally, I think this goes a bit too far. If drivers can eat, apply make-up, swat at the kids in the backseat, or put on panty hose while driving (yes, I’ve witnessed all of those) then surely I can drive while holding a conversation on my cell phone.

I am fully in favor of regulations against texting, surfing the web, or answering emails while driving although I’m not quite sure how effectively you can police that kind of thing before an accident occurs. But run of the mill phone conversations? Why would that be considered more of a distraction from driving than many of the other activities drivers partake in while driving?

I’m all for safety but I can’t get on board with this one. This is just one more example of government using one problem as an opportunity to overextend its reach into areas that are not as much of a problem.

Have a great weekend and drive safely.

A Sobering Reminder to a Politcially Correct Church

Voddie Baucham preaches on the Holy, Righteous, Warrior Jesus and His Almighty Father, the Most High God that we seldom hear about preached from American pulpits anymore. I just saw this and felt it was worth sharing. Enjoy or meditate or weep, and pray. Whichever is appropriate. The video is well worth the 5 minutes.

Whether or not you agree with Bro. Baucham on every point, the over arching theme of the message is sound. We hear far more about baby Jesus meek and mild than we do about the Righteous Judge and Soon Coming King. And our walk, MY walk, has suffered for it. The modern American church has lost the fear of the Lord.

ht: Ann Brock