Tuesday, March 16, 2010

St. Patrick the Anarchist

Why claim that St. Patrick was an "anarchist?"

Because St. Patrick had first-hand experience with "archists," and spent the rest of his life urging archists to repent of their archism.

An "archist" is obviously the opposite of an "an-archist" (which literally means "not an archist").

But what's an archist?

An archist is someone who believes in imposing his will on others by force. The opposite of an "archist" is a "servant."

Patrick lived in the waning days of the Roman Archy. Rome was an "empire" because it was imperialist, conquering people and subjugating them.

At the age of 16, St. Patrick was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders that raided his British village. Slave traders are the epitome of "archists," completely disregarding the wishes of others, totally depriving them of their liberty and pursuit of happiness, often depriving them of their lives.

St. Patrick did not seek to bomb the slave traders "back to the Stone Age"; he chose to become their servant, to give his life for their souls, making great personal sacrifices to connect with them and to persuade them to forsake their archist ways and follow the executed Jesus Christ, who commanded His followers to be anarchists.

Join us this Saturday as we talk about St. Patrick and other anarchists in our LIVE webcast, "The Ozarks Virtual Townhall."

Here are previous posts on St. Patrick, which you can study before Saturday to be prepared for the conversation:

St. Patrick: Christian Libertarian

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick for Today

Saturday, March 13, 2010

"Don't Ask, Don't Speak"

Whenever the government acts, someone's First Amendment rights must always be denied. It is inescapable. There is no neutrality.

Consider Mormon polygamists. They wanted freedom for multiple wives. The U.S. Supreme Court denied them the "religious freedom" they sought, declaring that America was a Christian nation, and polygamy is prohibited in every Christian nation. If the government upholds the Biblical definition of marriage, then polygamists will not have the same degree of "religious freedom" that Christians will have.

Federal action against polygamists (fines, prison, death) is both unconstitutional and unChristian, as is federal action against homosexuals.

As America becomes a more Christian nation, there will be less polygamy. Not because there will be more arrests for polygamy, but because there will be fewer polygamists to arrest.

Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ....

In a civilized society, only one person speaks at a time. If the government decides who, the First Amendment will be infringed.

If the government promotes a homosexual view of marriage, then Christians will be denied their First Amendment rights. This is illustrated by John R. Guardiano, in his article, The Intolerance and Bigotry of Openly Gay Military Service. David A. Noebel sums up the case:

Two days after President Obama promised in his State of the Union address Jan. 27, 2010, to dump the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, the president of the Family Research Council, Tony Perkins (a former Marine), was disinvited to speak at a prayer luncheon at Andrews Air Force Base.

According to Guardiano, the reason for the disinvite came from the military itself – "Perkins had spoken out in support of 'don't ask, don't tell' ... and this, he was told, made his views 'incompatible for military members [who] serve our elected officials and our commander in chief.'"

The Washington Times explained the situation this way: "The [Air Force] Chaplain's Office retracted Mr. Perkins' invitation after his recent public comments made many who planned to attend the event uncomfortable, the Andrews base public affairs office said in a statement issued late Thursday, [Feb. 25]."

Perkins issued the following response:

"As one who took the oath to protect our freedoms, I am disappointed that I've been denied the opportunity to speak to members of the military, in a non-political way, solely because I exercised my free-speech rights in a different forum. It's ironic that this blacklisting should occur because I called for the retention and enforcement of a valid federal statute. Unfortunately, this is just a precursor of things to come in a post- 'don't ask, don't tell' military. This legislation would more than open the armed forces to homosexuals; it would lead to a zero-tolerance policy toward anyone who disapproves of homosexuality. Military chaplains would bear the heaviest burden. Would their sermons be censored to prevent them from preaching on biblical passages which describe homosexual conduct as a sin?"

The answer, unfortunately, is obvious.

America's Founding Fathers never envisioned the military being so prominent in American life, with over 50% of a bloated 3 trillion dollar federal budget being consumed by the military. A Goliath-like standing army has replaced David-like militias. America is no longer a "City Upon a Hill," but an imperialist Leviathan.

The Founders also envisioned the federal government being "under God," where "God" means the God of Moses, Isaiah, Jesus and Paul, and "under" means "humble" and "subservient." Today's "secular" federal government is arrogant and anti-Christian (except when a pseudo-Christian posturing is politically expedient).

As America leaves her Christian and libertarian roots, more and more people will look to the State as Savior, and demand a secular/socialist concept of "rights," and conflicts under the First Amendment will proliferate. The only way to eliminate infringement of First Amendment rights is to eliminate sin and government action.


Thursday, March 04, 2010

Joplin Independent

The Joplin Independent requested a 250-word statement about my campaign. I sent them the following (links added for this blog):

-----=====******O******=====-----

Kevin Craig’s campaign theme is “Liberty Under God.” He is a “radical” Libertarian and an “extremist” Christian. He believes the Boston Tea Party (1773) was an unChristian act of vandalism, and he condemns the American Revolution, but believes Americans have a duty to abolish any government that becomes a tyranny -- using persuasion and reason (rather than violent revolution).

He believes the federal government has become an atheistic dictatorship. It prohibits public school teachers in southwest Missouri from teaching students that the Declaration of Independence is really true:
• that our rights come from God,
• that there are moral absolutes,
• that we all must stand before “the Supreme Judge of the World,”
• and that we should have a firm reliance on the “Invisible Hand” of “Divine Providence” to manage our economy rather than Washington bureaucrats.

Kevin Craig’s parents met at the School of the Ozarks (now College of the Ozarks), moving to California in the 1950’s. Kevin was born there, and graduated from the University of Southern California. He passed the California Bar Exam, but a secularist federal court denied him a license to practice law because he believes America should be a nation “under God,” and because his allegiance to God is greater than his allegiance to the government.

Politics is a “tug-of-war.” Kevin Craig wants Missouri to send the first Libertarian to Congress to pull the rope of socialism back to 1776, so that Capitalism, Competition, and Free Markets can propel America into the prosperity of the 21st century.

Monday, March 01, 2010

Ramble & Rumble with Rabbi Eukel

I'll be glad when I'm elected to Congress, and my Congressional staff can keep my schedule straight. I erroneously assumed that my appearance on Rabbi Eukel's "Ramble & Rumble with Rabbi" was this evening; in actuality it was this morning.

The show was to feature all the candidates who have thus far filed for the 7th Congressional seat in Missouri (filing does not close until March 30). Here's some of what I heard, with links to my own website:

Tim Davis, so far the lone the Democrat candidate, opened the show. He's an unusual Democrat, to put it mildly, and no sharper contrast could be imagined than between him and the 2006 Democrat nominee, Jack Truman. Davis is a native of the Ozarks and an Oxford scholar who boasts of his admiration for Milton Friedman, Ludwig von Mises, and Friedrich A. Hayek. How can a fan of Mises and Hayek run in the party of John Maynard Keynes?

Jeff Wisdom was next, also having a graduate degree in economics, and praising the Free Market system. He wants to repeal the 16th Amendment (income tax) but wants to substitute a "Fair Tax" in its place. He is pro-military, and pro-"War on Terrorism." He says we shouldn't worry about the God-given rights of human beings arbitrarily accused of being a "terrorist" by a corrupt government which shows no respect for the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. (Well, he didn't put it that way. He said something like, "This is war.")

Gary Nodler, a state senator, says he has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, is opposed to abortion, cloning, homosexual marriage, and debt, though he boasts of giving out lots of loans with a government small business agency.

Bob Schanz did not participate.

Mike Moon was next. He talked about his children, and a school bully. He defends the Biblical view of Marriage. Also the military. He says the government cannot be our caretaker. He also supports a "Fair Tax." He says he's the "Common sense compassionate conservative Ronald Reagan Republican."

Darrell Moore is Greene County Prosecutor. He boasts of his involvement in creating a multitude of government laws against truancy, drunkenness, immigration, etc., on the local level, and now wants to make lots of laws on the national level. He says Americans want decent jobs, healthcare, education, housing, retirement, and other "middle class values" they are "entitled to."

Jack Goodman is also a Missouri state senator. He quoted Lincoln about "inflexible principles." He says the "experiment in liberty" that America's Founders initiated "has worked" and "still works." A happy thought.

Bob Brown did not participate.

Billy Long is an auctioneer, which would seem to be a vital skill for a politician. He wants "citizen legislators." He says businessmen have more "common sense" than politicians in D.C.

Dean Moore is an independent. He was a youth pastor and now an auto parts store manager. As such, he has probably done more to promote transportation than all the transportation bureaucrats combined. He's a big defender of the 10th Amendment. Although he wants to trim government, he says we have to "honor our commitments." Supports a "Fair Tax" and the 2nd Amendment. "Get out of the U.N," he says.

I have recorded a 7-minute message. It's probably not exactly what I would have said this morning, since I have had time to listen to the other candidates, check out their websites, and think a little more about what distinguishes my campaign for "Liberty Under God" from the other campaigns.

http://KevinCraig.us/audio/eukel01.mp3

If that link does not begin playing in your browser, try this page with an embedded player at the bottom:

http://KevinCraig.us/eukel01.htm