I was just thinking about - - - -
A saying that has been with us for a very long time is: “Engage your brain before you operate your mouth!” More simply stated – “Think before you speak!” With that in mind, remarks by Karl Rove in today’s Wall Street Journal state the following regarding the political proclamations by the presumed candidates of their respective affiliation. He states: “Is knowledge or consistency too much to ask?” What he has in mind is the complete misunderstanding of profits versus profit margins. When candidates speak of or hint at windfall profit taxes on oil companies, Karl Rove says: “Why should we stop with oil companies? They make about 8.3 cents in gross profit per dollar of sales. Why don't the candidates slap a windfall profits tax on sectors of the economy that have fatter margins? Electronics make 14.5 cents per dollar and computer equipment makers take in 13.7 cents per dollar, according to the Census Bureau. Microsoft's margin is 27.5 cents per dollar of sales. Call out candidate’s Windfall Profits Police! It's not the profit margin, but the total number of dollars earned that is the problem, the candidate’s might say. But if that were the case, why aren’t they targeting other industries? Oil and gas companies made $86.5 billion in profits last year. At the same time, the financial services industry took in $498.5 billion in profits, the retail industry walked away with $137.5 billion, and information technology companies made off with $103.4 billion. What kind of special outrage do the candidate’s have for these companies?"
And then, one candidate has selected a prospective National Security Advisor, Richard Danzig, who served as Navy Secretary under President Clinton. What is his philosophy and model for Terrorism and Foreign Policy? In the London Telegraph today, “(he) told a major foreign policy conference in Washington that the future of US strategy in the war on terrorism should follow a lesson from the pages of Winnie the Pooh, which can be shortened to: if it is causing you too much pain, try something else….Winnie the Pooh seems to me to be a fundamental text on national security…He spelled out how American troops, spies and anti-terrorist officials could learn key lessons by understanding the desire of terrorists to emulate superheroes like Luke Skywalker, and the lust for violence of violent football fans…Mr Danzig spelled out the need to change by reading a paragraph from Chapter One of the children’s classic, which says: “Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump on the back of his head behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming down stairs. But sometimes he thinks there really is another way if only he could stop bumping a minute and think about it.”
If this became a reality in our national politics, then our nation should have a resident Phrenologist (one who studies configurations of the skull and bumps on the head) as the Chief Analyst, or maybe as President of our country. By definition, a phrenologist is one who accepts “a psychological theory or analytical method based on the belief that certain mental faculties and character traits are indicated by the configurations of the skull.”
Some Biblical truths we would do well to remember and think about: Job 12:12-13, “Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days. With God are wisdom and might; He has counsel and understanding.” Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” And James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Any person desiring to lead a nation should have some focus on the source of true wisdom versus the fanciful (but absurd) experiential approach. Maybe – before we vote – we should check skulls and determine how many bumps are on a candidate’s head.
Think about that with me - - -
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