The FaithWalkers Daily -- Nov. 30: GOP Laughs At Obama's Proposal, UN Rewards Palestine Bully, Charitable Giving Down

The FaithWalker’s Daily is a quick review of key news stories of the day from the perspective of a conservative Christ-follower living in, but not of, the world.

Republicans Laugh at Obama’s Absurd Financial Cliff Proposal

The Basics —

Republican leaders claim they laughed when Treasury Secretary Geithner delivered the Obama proposal to them yesterday, essentially the same one Obama had offered two weeks ago, heavy on tax increases, but very vague on spending cuts.

Dig Deeper:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell via Hugh Hewitt: “”Pres. Obama can’t get everything he wants. Those days are over.”
Via Reuters: Obama demanding more stimulus spending (that worked well) and unilateral authority to raise the debt limit in the future.
Ryan Grimm at the Huffington Post says it’s the same deal Obama offered two weeks ago. The GOP didn’t take it seriously according to staffers because no one else in the WH seemed to be taking it seriously.
House Speaker John Boehner calls the offer a “break from reality.”
Via White House Dossier: President Obama plans to be on $4 Mil vacation when the country goes over the fiscal cliff.
Via National Journal: Maybe the revenue shortage has something to do with not having enough babies who are taxpayers?
Via RealClearPolitics.com:Krauthammer says GOP should walk away, that General Lee had better terms for surrender to end the Civil War.

A Few Thoughts…

Maybe this is why Treasury Secretary Geithner stayed on for awhile longer in the Obama Administration — so he could present absurrd offers with a straight face. I agree with Rush Limbaugh that this is a game of political chicken being played by the President and, to some extent, Republican leaders. I expect no deal to be struck. Only blame assigned afterwards. The solution to this mess is NOT more government programs, more centralized power, and more spending — Obama’s general plan. We do not have a revenue problem. We have spending addiction. And so far no leaders have the courage to deal with it.

Leaders run to messes — not to Hawaii.

UN Recognizes Palestine as a Non-Member State

The Basics —

The United Nations yesterday voted 138 to 9, with 41 abstentions, to recognize Palestine as a “non-member observer state” over objections from Israel and the United States.

Dig Deeper:

The Washington Post story with the details. Great Britain and Germany abstained.
AllahPundit at Hot Air offers the theory that some states supported the move to give Palestinian leader Abbas a stronger hand against the terrorist group Hamas which currently runs Palestine. “They’re handing him a counterweight, in theory, against Hamas in the battle for Palestinian legitimacy.”
Ron Prosor at the Wall Street Journal asks if we really need another terrorist state?

A Few Thoughts…

I have little to no respect for the United Nations (does 17 pointless resolutions against Saddam Hussein ring a bell?). Consequently, I find it hard to care much about what they recognize or not. Yet I also am not an expert on the Middle East peace process. Essentially, the UN recognized with some non-official/official status a group of people who elected a known terrorist group to lead them. It’s like voting to ask a bully to observe the school safety team at the crosswalk. You know, just hang out on the corner, so we can all be friends. The problem is that the bully keeps punching all the kids who walk by.

Maybe Palestine should quit punching people first. Then we can talk about being on the team.

Poll Claims US to Give Less to Charity this Christmas

The Basics —

A new poll released by and Harris International and World Vision claim that Americans be giving Christmas giving less to charity, with a decline of givers by 6%.

Dig Deeper:

Via The Wall Street Journal: The headline doesn’t match the data they give which claims both spending and charitable giving will be down.
Key quote from World Vision spokesperson: “We have gone through these tough times and it’s surprising that instead of being more sympathetic, Americans are spending more on holiday gifts and giving less to charity. ” [Repeat: no poll data is given to support the claim of increased spending.]
Jim Wallis of Sojouners offers his surprise at the reduction in charitable giving and calls for a voluntary “Christmas tithe.”
My post here on Christmas Shopping: How Much is Too much?

A Few Thoughts…

I fail to see why Jim Wallis, a longtime advocate of “social justice” through government programs is surprised that giving is down while government spending is up. That’s exactly what I would expect to see. The programs Wallis and others champion take money from the potential givers in order to use it for “charitable” purposes of helping the poor, the sick, the homeless, etc. Why would people give more if the government already took their money to do the charity for them? I can hear the famous words of Scrooge now: Have we no poorhouses?